The View Down Under: Significant GT resources found in Victoria, but the country struggles to move forward

In Australia, reports have the southern state of Victoria hold significant new stores of geothermal energy reserves. This is great news for an area that boasts a quarter of the country’s total population. It also makes sense geologically in an area once and still known for prosperous gold mines.

But while it continues to find resources, the country itself continues to search for the capital to move projects forward, from either the private or the public sector.

In Victoria, the State Government and Geoscience Victoria undertook large studies of underground energy over the last year and released a new map of available reserves in hopes of attracting investment. (we were unable to secure the maps by deadline).

Energy and Resources Minister, Peter Batchelor, said the areas of Stawell, Horsham, Mildura, and Ballarat, had all been identified as new areas with significant energy potential, adding that the results were “better than we expected.” A report on the work was completed by Sinclair Knight Merz, which also assessed the renewable potential of wave, wind and solar power for the state.

A green group in the center of the state says that policies need to be in place to encourage investment in geothermal energy in Victoria. A group spokesman said the assessment is a welcome first step, “But we’ve also got to be totally honest that there won’t be investment in these kinds of new technologies unless there’s also government policies that back it up.”

The group may get its wish with an election push upcoming in August. The Labor party is said to making geothermal energy a centerpiece of it climate change policy. Labor failed in its bid to set up an emissions trading scheme, and Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard vowed to come up with a fresh climate policy when she took over the job in June.

And it would seem that as in the U.S., Australian investors may need to the government step up before they do. Geothermal was the worst performing component of the Australian Cleantech Index in the 2010 financial year, falling 57.3%, compared with the average decline of 32% in the rest of the Index. It is believed that government support will bring the confidence needed in that capital market to make it fly.