Australia's Energy Commodity Resources 2026 Geothermal

Geothermal energy in Australia remains at an early stage of development, with activity primarily focused on exploration and targeted project evaluation rather than large-scale energy use and electricity generation. Although commercial deployment has been limited, advances in geothermal technologies—particularly enhanced and advanced geothermal systems (EGS/AGS)—are improving feasibility, supported by international progress in deep drilling, reservoir development, and well performance. These advances are addressing key technical barriers, including the ability to drill deep, hot formations more efficiently, better predict subsurface temperatures, and manage heat exchange and reservoir behaviour. For example, recent EGS developments in the United States by Fervo Energy (2026a, 2026b) demonstrate how advances in drilling efficiency and reservoir stimulation are rapidly improving the commercial viability of geothermal energy. Global investment in geothermal power projects is estimated to have risen from more than US$1 billion in 2020 to US$6 billion in 2025, and is projected to keep growing to 2030 (Rystad Energy and ThinkGeoEnergy 2026).

Exploration and project-level initiatives continue across several basins, reflecting ongoing efforts to better characterise Australia’s geothermal resource potential (Figure 9.1). At the same time, geothermal is increasingly recognised for its potential role in the evolving energy system, offering a low-emissions, dispatchable energy source that is not weather-dependent and can support a range of applications, including electricity generation, industrial heat, hydrogen production, and desalination. While direct-use applications such as heating and cooling remain the most mature segment, emerging technologies look set to enable broader deployment and improve the commercial outlook for geothermal energy in Australia.

Power generation

No Australian geothermal electricity generation facilities were active in 2025. Four small projects have been trialled over the last two decades, the most recent being a small-scale (310 kW) Hot Sedimentary Aquifer Organic Rankine Cycle geothermal power station in Winton, Queensland, in 2019 (Figure 9.1; ThinkGeoEnergy, 2019). Earlier small scale applications include the Mulka Station facility that produced 0.02 MW of electricity in the late 1980s (Burns et al., 2000), the Habanero (Innamincka Deeps) Project 1 MW pilot plant, which generated from an EGS resource for five months in 2013 (Geodynamics, 2014), and Ergon Energy’s low temperature geothermal power station at Birdsville, which sourced hot (98°C) waters at relatively shallow depths from the Great Artesian Basin between 1992 and 2017 (ThinkGeoEnergy, 2018).

Direct-use and heat applications

According to Beardsmore et al. (2026), recent years have seen steady growth in terms of direct use geothermal in Australia, both with and without heat pumps. Large-scale direct-use Hot Sedimentary Aquifer systems, such as those used to heat swimming pools or provide hydronic heating systems and commercial-scale geoexchange systems, are increasing in number in Australia (Figure 9.1).

Established and effective examples of direct-use geothermal systems include Robarra (Robe, South Australia) and Mainstream Aquaculture (Werribee, Victoria), both growing barramundi using 28–29°C bore water. Midfield Meats (Warrnambool, Victoria), uses warm bore water (boosted to 82°C) for washing and sterilising its industrial meat processing facility. The use of geoexchange technology at scale in housing developments and other large commercial applications has become increasingly common. Prominent examples include the Geoscience Australia building in Canberra and the 72 MWth (megawatts thermal) Barangaroo water-loop heat rejection cooling system in Sydney. In October 2024, Australia’s largest GSHP project began operations at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra (ThinkGeoEnergy, 2024).

As of December 2025, over 38 MWt of installed capacity for direct use of geothermal heat from hot aquifers has been identified (Beardsmore et al., 2026), an increase of 2 MWt (5%) since 2023. Ground source heat pump capacity is estimated to be 96 MWt, an increase of 25 MWt (35%) since 2023.