New Zealand:

"Make Most of Geothermal Power" Workshop Instructs (Bay of Plenty Times)

Around half of New Zealand's geothermal energy use occurs in the Bay of Plenty, but there's scope for much more, including by Tauranga businesses. That was the message from a recent Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) workshop on direct use of geothermal energy for commercial use.

"Access to geothermal energy resources provides a real comparative advantage for the Bay of Plenty and Waikato regions," said Shaun Bowler, EECA renewable heat programme manager.

The Bay of Plenty was already dominant when it came to geothermal energy, with around half of the country's 300 geothermal applications located in the region, said Mr Bowler. Geothermal heat was available throughout the central North Island area and there was scope to develop a lot more of it, he said.

Direct use was the use of geothermal heat energy in applications other than the generation of electricity.

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