The $25 million grant was awarded under the Victorian Government’s Energy Technology Innovation Strategy.
The funding will assist with two stages of the Geelong Geothermal Power Project’s development – the first being the establishment of a ‘proof of resource’ using $5 million in funding.
This stage will involve the drilling of an initial well to a depth of approximately 4,000 m, and a short-term flow test to analyse the results in terms of temperature, geothermal fluid flow rate and formation permeability.
A further $20 million will be awarded for stage two – the construction of a 12 MWe geothermal demonstration plant.
The separate tranches of the funding are paid on the achievement of set milestones and are subject to a number of conditions, including securing the necessary project funds to complete each stage.
