New Zealand’s Geothermal Direct Use Inventory and Opportunities

Abstract

The success of direct geothermal use is well demonstrated both domestically and internationally. Geothermal direct use in New Zealand includes timber and milk processing, geothermal tourism, balneology, and commercial and domestic heating. There is growing interest from the geothermal industry, economic development agencies, regulatory authorities and others to develop new direct use projects in New Zealand. However, to date, much of the direct use and lower temperature geothermal research has been ad-hoc, and eclipsed by the focus on high temperature resources and electricity generation. There is a considerable need for access to robust information on existing direct use operations, available resources and their characteristics, knowledge of the regulatory environment, and economic data. This paper presents the development of a national geothermal direct use database. The focus is on commercial and industrial opportunities, where the energy demand and economic development potential is considerable.