The steam hissing out of the "hot rocks" as it came to the surface from deep under the South Australian desert in the mid-2000s as ASX-listed Geodynamics drilled a well was a potent ­symbol of the optimism surrounding the fledgling geothermal energy sector at the time.

There were bold claims made by other proponents who believed there was enough energy trapped in the rocks deep undergound in far north SA to power all of Australia for decades.