InvestSMART

CLIMATE SPECTATOR: Olympic Dam's renewable future?

Could BHP's Olympic Dam expansion be powered by geothermal, solar and wind energy? That's the billion-dollar vision of Petratherm head Terry Kallis.
By · 8 Dec 2011
By ·
8 Dec 2011
comments Comments
Upsell Banner

Climate Spectator

It may seem somewhat audacious for a company with a market value of $16 million to propose a world-leading energy project nearly one hundred times its value. But, says Petratherm managing director Terry Kallis, if you don't dream, you don't get. And he just happens to think he's sitting on a unique opportunity.

Kallis, on Wednesday, outlined his vision for a $1.5 billion clean energy precinct in the outback of South Australia that would take advantage of the unique combination of geothermal, solar and wind energy resources, the intersection of major gas pipelines, and the proximity of the world's largest mine and other major developments.

The big opportunity is, of course, to service the massive energy demands of BHP Billiton's proposed Olympic Dam expansion – which could be more than 700MW at that site alone – as well as other proposed mines such as Prominent Hill. Mine managers do not normally think along the lines that Kallis has proposed – they will simply build a new transmission line if a connection is close enough, or build enough gas or diesel to ensure the operations keep going 24/7.

However, BHP Billiton have shown that they are willing to consider all options.

Read more...

Share this article and show your support
Free Membership
Free Membership
Giles Parkinson
Giles Parkinson
Keep on reading more articles from Giles Parkinson. See more articles
Join the conversation
Join the conversation...
There are comments posted so far. Join the conversation, please login or Sign up.