Geothermal energy

Geothermal energy comes from the heat at the core of the Earth. New Zealand has an abundant supply of geothermal resources in both the North and South Islands, although the majority of development to date has been in the Taupo Volcanic Zone.

New Zealand was one of the first countries in the world to develop large-scale geothermal electricity generation in the 1950s. Geothermal energy is currently our second-most used fuel for renewable electricity generation, afer hydro.

On this page:

Benefits of geothermal energy

Uses for geothermal energy

Potential for geothermal energy expansion

EECA's role in supporting the use of geothermal energy in New Zealand

Benefits of geothermal energy

When properly developed and managed, geothermal electricity is a clean, abundant, and reliable source of renewable energy.

Geothermal electricity generation typically has much lower greenhouse gas emissions when compared to fossil fuel alternatives.

Geothermal electricity generation is a consistent and reliable resource, especially in times of drought, because it is not dependent on or affected by weather conditions.

Uses for geothermal energy

High temperature geothermal resources have been developed for electricity generation for quite some time. The Wairaki-Tauhara system north of Taupo was built in 1958.

Low temperature (commonly defined as less than 150oC) geothermal energy has been used directly in New Zealand for hundreds of years for cooking, washing, bathing, and warmth. 

Geothermal energy is still today ideally suited to direct heating. Low temperature geothermal systems are widely used for heating greenhouses, drying timber and crops, public bathing complexes, and other industrial and agricultural processes.

Low temperature geothermal resources can also be used indirectly for heating using ground-source heat pumps in many parts of New Zealand. In some situations the heat that ground-source heat pumps extract is actually energy from the sun which is stored in earth or surface water, as opposed to geothermal heat from the earth.

New technologies are also being developed to utilise low-temperature geothermal resources for electricity generation.

Presently, New Zealand has over 600 MW of geothermal electricity generating capacity installed.

Potential for geothermal energy expansion

There is significant potential for expansion of geothermal energy in New Zealand. Of course not all potential will be developed, but even after taking account of environmental and regulatory limitations, it has been estimated that there is approximately another 1000MW of geothermal potential that could be used for generating electricity.

There is also significant potential for the direct use of geothermal heat, for example in industrial use, or in ‘cascading' uses. Because most electricity generation requires high temperature resources, it is possible to use the gradually-cooling geothermal fluid in a number of other processes such as secondary power generation, greenhouses, timber-drying, aquaculture or other industries, prior to the cooled geothermal fluid being re-injected.

EECA's role in supporting the use of geothermal energy in New Zealand

EECA works to remove barriers to, and encourage the uptake of, all renewable energy technologies. This includes providing independent and impartial information, and in some situations supporting projects through the resource consenting process. (Find out more about EECA's work promoting renewable energy)

EECA also works with and supports the New Zealand Geothermal Association to undertake industry-led initiatives to support the use of geothermal energy.

More information