By now, most of us are beginning to be familiar with new technologies regarding energy sources. These include solar, battery, wind and wave power, and thermal. Quite possibly, the latter two may not be known to you. While thermals have been around for some time in this country, wave energy is still in its infancy.
Thermal energy requires drilling a hole deep underground to reach hot spots of heated water which is then pumped to the surface and used in a generator to produce electricity. More precisely, geothermal energy comes from the lower level of the Earth’s crust heated by the magma (hot liquid rocks as in a lava flow) which is found in aquifers (seeping groundwater from the surface over eons of time) producing hot springs.
Once extracted, the hot water at the surface changes into steam which can spin a large turbine. In turn, steam condenses into vapor and water, which can then be used for other purposes. This can include heating public baths, to plant hot houses, and water to irrigate farms. Most, but not all, geothermal power is found in the northern half of our continent. In the southwest of WA ,for example, there are ten commercial projects in Perth, producing geothermal fluid to heat swimming pools and a meat processing plant in Victoria uses warm groundwater for feedwater sterilization and hand washing.
If you ask why we don’t have this sort of energy in Australia in abundance, then the best answer is to look at Iceland. Although the country is geographically small with a tiny population, it has a wealth of geothermal power. There are two significant things here. One is the cost, and the other is long-term generation. While we in Australia can link up with long-term access to this source, to extract it means going very deep. In Iceland, the majority of the thermals are very close to the surface, so cost-effective.
Talking about drilling, Russia in the Soviet era began the ‘Kola Project’ reaching depths of over 12km (7.6m) which is more than the deepest part of the Marianas Trench or the height of Mount Everest. Whatever resources they were looking for were prohibited by soaring costs. Drilling stopped in 1992 and the hole sealed in 2005. Not to be outdone, however, just recently the Chinese have an ocean-going ship with drilling rigs capable of reaching the mantle, so they say. This is still in the feasibility stage of deep penetration.
If you have ever been near a ‘wave blow hole’ you can experience the draft and sudden suction of the water disappearing beneath the rocks. Crudely, this is how a hydro-turbine works. In Scotland, Norway, and in other places experiments in using wave power have been ongoing for years but not until very recently, most notably on King Island, here in Tasmania.
Wave Swell Energy Limited (WSE) is an Australian Company that has developed its patented innovation to transform the energy that waves produce in the ocean, including seawalls, into emission-free electricity. To do this, they capture the oscillation of the wave’s back and forth motion and using a turbine the energy is turned into electricity which can then be fed into a grid system on land. If it sounds simple it is, but technically there is, of course, more to it. The company says they can deploy several floating platforms, both in and offshore, depending on the best location and away from hazards such as shipping and fishing.
Whilst the sea trials between January 2021 to March 2023 on King Island were highly successful and global interest is mounting, WSE, like many innovative companies in Australia, often need to seek finances elsewhere to expand their operations. Professor Michelle Simmons, Australian of the Year in 2018 in Quantum Physics, stated at a Boyer Lecture that, like many others, Australia needed to support much better home-grown inventive ideas and not needlessly to go offshore. Investing in WSE can involve consultations and building locally.
We are still in our infancy in Australia with ‘Green Energy’ and whilst one form of technology, like a wind farm, may be suitable for one location and not for another it might be prudent in long-term thinking to support other forms of energy technologies. To do this means better collaboration between all parties, namely governments, the commercial sector including local representative groups, individuals, and others.
Brilliant article Geoffrey, I am very interested in exploring more about wave swell energy.
I agree with you about being “prudent” in our quest for better power sources. There is no quick or easy fix but our leaders and governments think very short term based on the election cycle of 3 to 4 years. Knee jerk reactions are the order of the day fuelled by a media that wants to keep the populace in a constant state of panic.
I love the idea of tidal or wave generated power but as humans we tend to get carried away with an idea without considering the unintended consequences and the corresponding ripple effect. How will these machines effect currents, ocean organisms, magnetic fields etc.
Unfortunately Australia has lost much of its geo thermal potential a very long time ago but at least it means we are less inclined to get earthquakes.
Whilst these power sources may not be viable for electricity production we certainly should be looking at how they can be used to reduce the electricity consumption. A dollar saved is always better than a dollar earned.
Many of these so called “green” technologies generate their own forms of pollution and environmental damage and have significant ethical issues as well, such as the human cost of Cobalt mining and Silica production for batteries and solar panels.
Nothing is emissions free. Not seeing the smoke in front of you doesn’t mean it is not happening somewhere else in the world. The main country producing many of these “green” technologies, wind, solar etc. has 1160 coal fired power plants and expanding this number at more than one per week.
Another issue is that “green” technologies mainly require the conversion of Direct Current to Alternating Current. This has a significant impact, particularly on anything with an electric motor, and is a form of inbuilt obsolescence guaranteed to have you buying new appliances on a regular basis. Its also great for mining and the fossil fuel industry.
In all of this debate around energy we really do need to consider carefully the lesser of many evils.