Geothermal Sustainability Regulation in Iceland and New Zealand

Abstract

Geothermal energy is a clean and renewable energy resource. In many countries with naturally occurring hydrothermal resources (like Iceland) geothermal power plants have been successfully generating for more than 50 years. In an earlier publication (IRENA, 2015) the geothermal regulation in 4 countries were compared (Chile, New Zealand, Philippines and Kenya). One of the conclusions was a marked difference in the regulation around ‘sustainability’ and use/management of geothermal resources. Iceland is also a country with a large history of geothermal regulation and strong history of sustainable regulation and monitoring. This article focuses on both Iceland and New Zealand’s geothermal regulation and specifically on the processes to manage sustainability, assess, ‘prove’ and report on geothermal resources.