What Is Geothermal Energy? Geothermal energy is heat stored in
rocks beneath the earth’s surface. This heat is brought to the
surface as hot water, where it can be used to generate
electricity or used directly for applications such as space
heating, air-conditioning and the production of desalinated
water. Geothermal resources are typically accessed by drilling
wells into the resource and extracting the hot water which is
used to generate electricity on the surface or distributed for
direct use. Once the heat energy has been extracted the water is
usually re-injected back into the ground. Electricity from
geothermal energy is currently generated in 24 countries around
the world. As a source of cheap and emissions-free base-load
power, geothermal energy is the most appropriate form of large-
scale energy production. The full potential of geothermal energy
as a major source of power in Australia is only now being
recognised. High quality Hot Aquifer geothermal resources
promise to deliver commercial quantities o