Geothermal Matchmaker – a new role to drive economic growth in Bay of Plenty region, New Zealand

Lake Rotorua, New Zealand (source: flickr/ ActiveSteve, creative commons)

Alexander Richter 7 Feb 2018

The New Zealand Herald today reports on the new role for Andrea Blair, the global chair of Women in Geothermal (WING). Previously with GNS Science, Andy has been a very powerful voice in and for the geothermal sector in New Zealand, as well as strengthening the role of women in the global geothermal sector.

She is now the “Geothermal Business Develpoment Lead” for Bay of Plenty Connections, a regional growth strategy initiative for the wider Bay of Plenty, a large region in the Northern cost of New Zealand’s North Island, which is host to the vast majority of the geothermal resources of the country.

The goal is to help businesses “see where they can add value to their products by using the resource sustainably in systems where the resource is available.”

The initiative on geothermal was launched in August 2017 with the “ambitious target of creating 500 jobs attributed to direct-use geothermal projects by 2025” and the Business Lead Role is “aimed at removing barriers and speeding up investment in the geothermal industry”.

The initiative has published a great brochure on the various opportunities provided by geothermal direct use. Check it out here (pdf).

A workshop was held in 2017 to highlight what geothermal has to offer to the region – to see all the presentations etc see the event website.

The goal is to create business parks created around geothermal, with Iceland seen as an example.

We wish Andy success in her new role, which is also inspirational for other regions in the world with similar opportunities in the utilisation of geothermal resources, for power use, but also for direct use applications.

Source: NZ Herald