erm Buzz mate
it's not oil in an algae mine they are working on. Like chocolate or a winery, you grow more choc and winer and boil it up or something.
It's the first proof of concept output. Then it's scale-up using sunlight , CO2 and cash registers.
1/2 day , 1 day , 2 days..
you get the idea.

Nick; understood there have been several real projects over the years
for algae production. Some have been more promising than others.
One I remember was a continuous process with the algae produced in
glass tubes exposed to light.
It was a continuous process in contrast to batch processes.
Don't remember much of the detail but it did work.
A lot of these workable processes fail when it comes to scaling up.
I remember one that it was calculated up it would need a pond the
size of Ireland to supply Europe with fuel.
The continous process, if I remember correctly had problems with the
amount of electricity needed to run the lighting. LEDS might now
improve that problem. They needed artificial light because the
process had to continue day & night.
Some fail because they cannot get the Energy Return on Energy Invested
up to suitable levels.
Still they are working on algae systems and hopefully they might
get there one day.

It's electricity you want? No worries.

'The key to this device is this, the filter. Now, the sunlight comes from this direction, some of the wavelengths pass straight through to the silicon-based cell over here. Other wavelengths are reflected back to the gallium arsenide-based cell. The gallium arsenide cell is a triple stack of photovoltaic layers, unlike the silicon cell, which has only one. Splitting the sunbeams and using the double cell system produced a staggering 40% efficiency for converting sunlight to electricity - the highest for any commercially viable solar power system.'_ Oz 2015

Nick, this reply a gave to Tony might expand my thoughts for you.

Well Tony, I think you are driven by fear of global warming.
It does not matter whether global warming is true or not.
There is not enough economically available fossil fuels to drive the
atmosphere like the IPCC & others believe.

We have to leave oil & coal before oil & coal leave us !
Your idea of an interconnector that support other states is fine as
far as it goes, but do you understand that it means every state must
be able to generate & store enough electricity to support say two other
states as well as itself ?
As far as building damns to store water that is fine but there are two
big catch 22s involved.
No one has been able to designated where it is possible to build those damns.
The Energy Return on Energy Invested on the earth moving needed to
build those damns has been calculated to be very poor, even if you
could find suitable places.
Oh yes the greenies won't let you build them anyway.
That is the third catch22.

Batteries for storage, are you kidding ? The resources needed to
build and maintain them as big enough to run a state is gigantic.
Also the charge/discharge cycle losses would rule most batteries.

Another thing you have overlooked i the multiplication of costs.
Once you start backing up other states and charging storage of
whatever sort you have to cater for x times a days capacity + 1
where x = number of overcast windless days.
That just multiplies up the cost by those figures.
Catch 22 number four.
To be practical where the blazers do you expect to get that much money
in a time of zero growth ?
Posted by Bazz, Tuesday, 22 December 2015 3:45:16 PM

Australia has vacancies with full sun in abandoned sheep studs, suitable for 1) algal pools 2) solar power. The surplus daytime electricity is available for recycling the Murray into the Hydro , then re-used at night for power and round and round. They say sea -water can be used for algae , but it could rust out the Hydro turbines if things get too overloaded. Sydney sewage may give methane for fuel to generate pumping so the combinations could be run through Jupiter casino for the best bet.

errr are you having me on ?
Whats this about Jupiter Casino ?
Murray & Hydro ! Well that might feed a couple of country towns and
that is it.