In a story that sounds familiar, “Australian Geodynamics is investigating the possibility of co-locating a communications and storage data centre with its proposed commercial demonstration plant in the state’s far north.”

Similar options are currently being worked on in Iceland, where there are already two companies working on concrete projects placing data storage centers in proximity to geothermal power plants.

According to the article, Geodynamics has engaged “data centre specialist consultant Strategic Directions Group to undertake a detailed feasibility study of the concept.

In preparing the business case for investment in the CDP, Geodynamics is looking at supplying electricity from the CDP to co-located consumers.

It is one of several options the company has identified… with communications links into the existing national networks, Geodynamics managing director Gerry Grove-White said.

Geodynamics investor relations and public relations manager Jane Lowe said: “A data centre was not part of the earlier plans at the site, but the concept of providing power to a local project is an option.”

“It all depends on the feasibility study, which has begun. However, there is no time-frame for when it will be completed.”

The commercial demonstration plant is the second stage of Geodynamics three-stage business plan in the Cooper Basin region.

The hot rocks explorer successfully proved its ability to extract heat from hydraulically stimulated hot fractured rock to create power last month, completing Stage 1.

It is also close to commissioning its 1MW pilot plant to supply power to Innamincka after bringing a well blowout under control earlier this month.

The CDP will be ideally placed to provide long term electricity supply contracts at competitive prices to the data centre, which is considered to be an intensive consumer of electricity.

The detailed feasibility study will include identifying potential partners and selecting a preferred business model.

Communications infrastructure costs (laying underground optical fibre) would be considerably lower than high voltage transmission costs.

The Queensland-based Strategic Directions Group specialises in the development of state of the art data centres, and were the design authority for the Polaris Data Centre project in Springfield, Queensland.

Geodynamics plans to build Australia’s first commercial-scale geothermal power plant and have it operating by 2012.”

Source: Adelaide Now