The New Zealand Geothermal Association (NZGA) recently launched the Geoheat Strategy Action Plan for 2022-2023. This document is the third in a series which aims to focus activity of the Geoheat Action Group and others involved in delivering the Geoheat Strategy for Aotearoa NZ (2017-2030).  

The Action Plans targets direct use of geothermal heat ("geoheat") for industrial and commercial scale projects, with a focus on the established higher temperature geothermal resources in the central North Island and Northland.

Download the 2022-2023 Action Plan and find out more about the six key actions at www.nzgeoheat.nz

In Aotearoa New Zealand, geothermal heat is used in timber industries, food processing, agriculture, aquaculture, heating, tourism, and health and balneology. Geothermal resources are used to:

1. supply new and existing businesses with heat
2. attract industries to take advantage of New Zealand’s geothermal assets with the flow on environmental benefits
3. create employment in the ventures that use the geothermal energy and business that service the ventures
4. enable regional economic growth and Māori socio-economic development

At both the resource and technology levels, geoheat is a proven resource already being used in industry, with additional capacity available right now to be more widely deployed.

Accessing hotter, deeper geothermal resources, including supercritical energy, might open an opportunity to supply process heat for even higher temperature industrial applications. The Geothermal: The Next Generation (GNG) programme is developing thinking as to what might be ahead for the future in very hot geothermal energy use for Aotearoa New Zealand.  

GNG congratulate the New Zealand Geothermal Association on the Geoheat initiative – working to move New Zealand into a low carbon energy future.

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