17 Apr 2009

Australian firm wins right to develop geothermal resources in Vanuatu

6:50 pm on 17 April 2009

One of Australia's leading geothermal energy companies has been given the right to explore and develop geothermal heat resources in Vanuatu.

KUTh Energy Ltd was granted two exploration licenses by the Vanuatu Government on April the 1st, paving the way for the company to provide renewable geothermal power for the future.

KUTh Energy Managing Director David McDonald says a team of researchers will be investigating Vanautu's geothermal resources.

"We now need to do some initial exploration work on what the capacity of those resources are to supply energy to the island. Initial indications are that we've got some very hot springs. We need to do some geophysics, we need to do some MT work and some drilling work to determine just how much power we might be able to pull from those resources."

David McDonald says the demand for geothermal power is growing as countries such as Vanuatu move away from their reliance on imported oil for energy generation.