Electricity generation from geothermal energy in Australia

Educational value

• This resource is of use for the year 10 science curriculum, in particular the content description referring to energy conservation systems, and energy transfers and transformations. The Geothermal power generation systems and Existing geothermal power in Australia sections of the resource are useful here. The text and supporting diagrams in Figures 2 and 3 describe the process of producing geothermal energy using a dry-steam power plant, a flash-steam power plant and a binary-cycle power plant.
• This resource may be of use for the Environmental change and management unit of year 10 geography. It is relevant for the content description referring to the investigation of environmental change and the application of human-environment systems thinking. The Potential advantages of geothermal power generation in Australia section of the resource is useful here as it describes the advantages of geothermal power production, including the benefits for the environment.
• The resource may contribute to students attaining those elements of the year 10 science achievement standard that refer to students explaining the concept of energy conservation, energy transfer and transformation within systems. Figure 1 and its supporting text are useful here. The process to generate electricity from hydrothermal and Hot Rock geothermal systems is explained.

Year level

10

Topics Pollution Environmental sustainability Biodiversity Climate change Energy conversion Electricity Power generation Geothermal energy Human impact