Also on Wednesday 19th, but on the far side of the world, US President George Bush signed the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007.

The Act included the "Advanced Geothermal Energy Research and Development Act of 2007”, which authorizes a total of US$95 million annually and directs the Department of Energy to undertake a broad and aggressive research program to promote geothermal energy, especially engineered geothermal systems. The DoE has already indicated a desire to cooperate with Australia, so this is likely to have flow-on implications for the Australian industry.