About the program
The Geothermal Drilling Program (GDP) is a competitive merit-based grants program designed to support the development of geothermal energy by assisting companies seeking to develop geothermal energy with the cost of proof-of-concept projects, including drilling geothermal wells.
Geothermal energy holds the promise of being a renewable energy source with zero greenhouse gas emissions that can operate 24 hours a day, providing critical large scale baseload power for Australian homes and industries.
The GDP was launched on 20 August 2008 by the Minister for Resources and Energy, the Hon Martin Ferguson AM MP. All GDP projects are contracted to be completed by 31 December 2014.
The GDP is closed to new applications.
Grants and funding
The $50 million program provided grants of $7 million on a dollar for dollar matched funding basis.
Round 1 and 2 outcomes
GDP grants were offered over two funding rounds, with seven projects supported.
There are currently two active GDP projects that have been allocated $7million each under the program. These are:
- MNGI Pty Ltd—at Paralana, South Australia; and
- Geodynamics, a GDP Round 2 recipient—near Bulga in the Hunter Valley, New South Wales.
A third GDP project has been completed:
- Panax Geothermal Ltd—at the Limestone Coast, South Australia
Funds from GDP projects that did not progress have been reallocated to the Emerging Renewables Program specifically to support the geothermal industry. Emerging Renewables is now open for expressions of interest and applications.
About proof-of-concept projects
A proof-of-concept project involves drilling an initial well to the required depth to reach the desired temperature, usually between three to five kilometres. If necessary, fracturing of the rock at this depth is undertaken to allow fluid passage and create an effective underground heat exchanger. Most projects will involve the drilling of a second well to intersect the reservoir.
Testing is undertaken to provide information on how much fluid can be circulated through the underground heat exchanger and at what temperature. This description does not preclude the eligibility of other geothermal projects that are primarily for the purpose of commercial energy production.
Once a suitable geothermal resource is "proven" to exist, a commercial viability study is undertaken, and development is begun. Whereas the proof-of-concept phase involves as few as two wells, development of a large scale resource may involve the drilling of more than 100 wells.
More information
For more information about the GDP, contact:
Geothermal Drilling Program Team
Clean Energy Division
Email: GDP@ret.gov.au.
To learn more about geothermal energy, visit the geothermal energy information page or read about studies and research commissioned by the Australian Centre for Renewable Energy.
Further information about GDP grants can be found in the Minister’s media releases: