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Friday, March 15, 2019

New Zealand: Proposed Innovation and Enterprise Park Would Expand Use of Geothermal Resource

Ngawha Innovation Park Gets PGF Funding For Feasibility Study (Sharechat.co.nz)

Top Energy’s Ngawha power station
(Courtesy Top Energy)
Backers of an innovation and enterprise park proposed near Kaikohe will receive $890,000 from the Provincial Growth Fund to test the feasibility of the concept.

Te Tai Tokerau MP and deputy leader of the Labour Party Kelvin Davis, says the project has the potential to make better use of the region’s natural resources.

The project is being promoted by Far North District Council. Its commercial arm, Far North Holdings, was cleared to buy the 165-hectare site from local network company Top Energy last year.

The land, currently used for dairy farming, lies east of Kaikohe and over the northern part of the Ngawha geothermal field.

The latest proposal will test whether the site’s geothermal resource can be used to help develop higher-value product lines from existing businesses in the region, such as honey and horticulture.

If the geothermal option is viable, it could potentially be used for heating glasshouses or powering cool stores. Cheaper electricity supplies are expected to be available from Top Energy’s Ngawha power station to the south.

Other funding announced today included a $1.79 million investment in the redevelopment of the nearby Te Waiariki Ngawha geothermal springs.

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