Committee Hearing - 20 June 2007

The federal committee hearing which I have reviewed here was held on the morning of Wednesday the 20th of June 2007. The topic of the committee meeting was geothermal energy used as a renewable energy source. It was the 2nd public hearing related to the topic. The case study was referred to the committee by the Minister for Industry, Tourism and Resources, the Hon. Ian Macfarlane. The committee invited 2 guests to join the meeting, Professor Jefferson Tester and Mr. Barry Goldstein from the Australian Geothermal Energy Group. These 2 men gave an overview of the research being conducted in the field of geothermal energy, and then opened the floor to any questions or comments which the committee members had to offer.

Geothermal energy is the process of drilling into the earth’s core and harnesses the energy from the heat and movement from below the earth’s crust. It can be described as stored thermal energy content of the rocks and fluids underlying landmasses that are accessible by drilling. There are some 70 countries around the world that have begun to utilise and research this renewable energy source. One of the most noted and interesting experiments taking place at the moment is being held in Australia in Cooper Basin.

After an assessment of the United States’ potential, it was noted that widespread deployment of geothermal in the US would have a very positive impact on energy security, on the environment and on economic health. Based on Professor Tester’s observations of Australia, Tester believes that similar statements could be made about the potential of geothermal energy here.

After the Tester and Goldstein gave their summary of the geothermal energy industry and gave an overview of the research which has been happening throughout the world, the committee members were invited to ask the men any questions they had about the concept. One of the initial questions was related to why there is little data for the inner two-thirds of Australia. Goldstein replied with a short reason, which is that for data to exist there must be holes already drilled – either for oil or some other reason – which there are none in that region.

There were many references to Yellowstone National Park in the US in which an immense caldera blew 650,000 years ago, however, it is still a very active region. Mr. Hatton, asked the men why people have not been looking in this region to further their understanding of geothermal energy. Tester replied “Yellowstone is an area that provides the kind of information that we need to understand the regional geology, but the margins outside of Yellowstone are enormously high grade”.

I felt that the committee hearing was very civil and settled compared to the environment of question time in Parliament. It seemed to be quite orderly with people speaking in turn and following the formal structure of the meeting. The meeting seemed to run with a welcome, a “run-down” of the itinerary, a summary from the 2 visitors and then time for a Q&A. After reading transcripts of other committee meetings, it seems that the majority of meetings run in a similar fashion. Although these meetings are not as “action-packed” and entertaining as question time, they still provide a forum for politicians to speak about many different topics concerning the future of Australia.