Sustainable Management of Geothermal Resources in the Waikato Region, New Zealand

Abstract

New Zealand's environmental legislation devolves the management of most environmental matters to sub-national units of local government known as regional councils. Accordingly, since 1991 the Waikato Regional Council (Environment Waikato) has been developing, implementing and reviewing policy that promotes the sustainable management of geothermal resources. This policy divides the regional geothermal resource (80% of the national resource) into five types of geothermal systems; Development, Limited Development, Research, Protected and Small Geothermal Systems.
Geothermal energy is defined in New Zealand legislation as renewable. However, requiring large-scale use in Development Systems to be at a renewable rate is overly restrictive. The policy provides for extractive use that can be sustained over a number of generations by requiring a social discount rate to be applied as an alternative to the conventional use of a financial discount rate. It is accepted that at the conclusion of the extraction period, the resource may be depleted.
Significant Geothermal Features (including thermophilic ecosystems) are defined by assessment of cultural significance, rarity, vulnerability to changes in heat and fluid flow, and vulnerability of key characteristics to external factors such as other land uses and weathering. Policies, rules and non-regulatory methods protect Significant Geothermal Features.