FAQ’s

Several geothermal development companies were established in Australia from around 2000 and the Australian Government made provision for geothermal tenement applications. Some geothermal developers took up tenements with the plan to develop geothermal energy for electricity production. Some tried to drill, but all went broke and all tenements were eventually handed back.

High Drilling Costs
All of these companies either planned to, or did use, oil and gas drillers. The slow drilling methods and day rate charges used by oil and gas drilling services were simply too expensive for geothermal energy development.

Twin Well Geothermal Systems
All previous geothermal development plans were to use the twin well system. Two wells are required for each production well with this design, adding to the capital costs and, even more damaging, fracking was required to create or improve communication between these wells.
Production pumps must be set deep in the well. This means the pumps have a very short life and the energy required for pumping is very high. Production is stopped every year for several weeks to replace pumps and contaminated geothermal brine is brought to the surface which corrodes all of the casing, heat exchangers and piping, further adding to the cost of production.

Low sale price for electricity
Most geothermal exploration sites would have required long and expensive transmission lines to be installed from the generators to the market. Failed Australian geothermal developers focused on developing geothermal resources prior to establishing a market for their product.
Even if power purchase agreements were secured, they were with competing electricity distributors in an unregulated market and the prices offered were unviable.

Good Water Energy’s geothermal systems will not damage the environment. No fracking is required, there is no extraction of potentially toxic geothermal fluids, there is no emission of toxic steam or other harmful gasses into the atmosphere and there is no re-injection of geothermal brine into shallower ground reservoirs that can potentially harm the shallow freshwater reservoirs. However, the twin well geothermal systems used in most parts of the world do have the potential to harm the environment in many ways.

Our systems do not have the potential to cause earthquakes. Only twin well geothermal systems that require fracking can potentially cause earthquakes.

Solar electricity is definitely helping to reduce our CO2 emissions, but solar energy is only capable of producing electricity during daylight hours and is hampered by overcast weather or blocked sunlight. Because of its inconsistent output, a viable stable (24/7) electricity supply is still required. Increasing battery storage can only store limited energy, and batteries are both expensive and (come disposal) are unhealthy for the environment. Solar energy has good potential for consumer grade applications and is a great way for households to mitigate rising electricity prices.

Nuclear power is a great low cost method of generating electricity (as low as $0.02c per KW in some countries). The problem with nuclear energy has always been with the fuel used (uranium) and the by-product of spent rods. The potential for severe environmental damage in the event of a natural disaster, equipment failure or accident, while unlikely, is catastrophic to surrounding areas.

Similar to solar energy, wind power is not a continuous energy supply and batteries or hydroelectric systems are required to store energy when the wind is not blowing. Fluctuating electricity supplies from wind generators causes major problems to the power grid and the turbines themselves have been shown to adversely affect the environment. Studies are still ongoing into the potentially damaging effects (both on nearby ecology and communities) of infrasound created by wind turbines.

Every community in Australia has geothermal energy potential with our technology and systems. Because of their minimal footprint and potential to desalinate and supply fresh water, our systems are able to provide remote locations with consistent stable (24/7) power, and also mitigate the use of valuable water supplies or low-grade scheme water.