The new geography of geothermal energy

When the resources and industry minister, Martin Ferguson, announced $235 million in funding for renewable energy projects last month his remarks seemed to signal an important shift in the federal government's thinking. As the Sydney Morning Herald's Tom Arup reported, "Mr Ferguson said he placed the same level of importance on the commercial development of geothermal as carbon capture and storage technologies." This is a significant shift since the days, not long ago, when the federal government began promoting "clean coal"---a concept that has generated enormous scepticism---as the central element of its strategy for controlling emissions from electricity generation. Martin Ferguson's announcement included $152 million for two South Australian geothermal projects, a measure of the growing interest that this renewable source is attracting.