The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has announced $500,000 in funding to Climate-KIC Australia, a community dedicated to creating a climate resilient Australia, to lead a three-year study into the benefits of geothermal energy in the residential sector and greenfield estates.
The $1.7 million project will study a commercial-scale demonstration of renewable ground-source heat pumps being deployed across 800 new dwellings in the master-planned Fairwater precinct in Blacktown, Western Sydney.
Geothermal energy holds the promise of being a renewable energy source that could operate 24 hours a day, providing baseload power for Australian homes and businesses. It can be applied when heat is exchanged between the surface and the earth through a refrigerant solution that is piped via copper tubes that loop underground.
Prior to each house being built at Fairwater, a large drill is brought in to excavate a hole up to 90 metres deep. Following this, the copper piping is added, along with connections to individual pumps that exchange heat between the ground and each home.
With temperatures beneath the surface in Western Sydney ranging in the low 20s all year round, the ground heat pumps can cool hot homes during summer and provide heating when average daytime temperatures drop in winter.
ARENA states that if successful, the project will pave the way by establishing a business case for industry-wide adoption of ground-source heat pumps within local, renewable and efficient energy systems.
Climate-KIC will lead the project team comprising University of Technology Sydney (UTS), Curtin University, Wattwatchers and the Green Building Council of Australia, with $180,000 each of funding as well as in-kind support over three years from the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage, and the developer of the Fairwater development, Frasers Property Australia.
ARENA CEO, Darren Miller, said the project would demonstrate the potential of using geothermal energy to power households.
“Ground sourced thermal energy being installed in new housing estates could reduce energy consumption and cost as well as benefiting the network by lowering peak demand and the associated need to invest in expensive infrastructure,” Mr Miller said.
“If successful, this study could help demonstrate the value of geothermal energy to greenfield developers, potentially seeing further housing developments implement this renewable technology,” he commented.
Climate-KIC Australia CEO, Christopher Lee, added that the Fairwater Project represents a unique opportunity to measure, evaluate and understand the use of this technology.
“Working with a proactive property developer, leading researchers, start-ups and industry bodies allows us to bring a broad range of skills to a complex project. We are excited to be able to develop important insight for the property sector going forward,” he said.
