New Zealand allocates $3m for geothermal heat project in Bay of Plenty region
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A project that aims to explore geothermal heating opportunities in the Bay of Plenty region has received $3 million in funding the New Zealand government.
The Government of New Zealand will be investing NZD 3 million through the Regional Infrastructure Fund (RIF) to support a project that will explore the potential for geothermal heating in the Bay of Plenty region, specifically within the Tauranga Geothermal System.
The “Gas to Geoheat – Tauranga Geothermal System Project” is led by Geoexchange NZ in partnership with local landowners. The funding will support the drilling of two wells, at approximately 1 kilometer depth, at two strategic locations. One will be in Mount Maunganui, where there is an existing concentration of heat users, and the other will be in Rangiuru / Te Puke, where temperatures is known to increase at shallow depths but has not been fully explored.
The project will also generate publicly available geothermal data that will help in improving the understanding of geothermal heating opportunities in the region. It is expected to create 15 to 20 jobs during delivery.
“This is a public-good initiative that will support potential future energy projects such as neighbourhood central heating networks in which geothermal heat is supplied through a shared network to multiple buildings instead of each building installing its own system,” said Regional Infrastructure Fund, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones.
In 2024, a report published by Earth Sciences New Zealand (then known as GNS Science) and the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) showed how large-scale energy users in the Bay of Plenty region can benefit immensely by using geothermal energy for process heating. As pointed out in the Geoheat business guide published by the New Zealand Geothermal Association (NZGA), geothermal for process heating is already a well-established practice in New Zealand, as demonstrated by the dairy processing facility of Miraka Dairy in Taupo and the toilet paper and tissue manufacturing of Essity in Kawerau.
Geoheat opportunities are also being explored elsewhere in New Zealand, particularly in the Taranaki region where Ara Ake is leading an initiative to evaluate if the hundreds of suspended and shut-in onshore petroleum wells could be repurposed to deliver geothermal heat for industrial and household use.
Source: Beehive.govt.nz and Geoexchange NZ
