think geoenergy magazine - issue 01 2013 preview

M A G A Z I N E

GLOBAL GEOTHERMAL ENERGY – AFFAIRS | BUSINESS | DEVELOPMENT | ENGINEERING | FINANCE

AFFAIRSIndustry associations are crucial for holistic representation of each industry and its promotion

DEVELOPMENTExiting new developments are in development on almost every continent with public concerns being addressed

BUSINESSUtilization of geothermal brine and various additional direct use applications in the Philippines

ENGINEERINGFrom exploration and drilling to turbine technology engineering is a crucial element of the industry

COUNTRY FOCUSThis first issues‘ spotlight is on New Zealand - in the forefront of the geothermal industry for a century

FINANCEMitigating and managing risk in geothermal projects may ease the financing process particularly in the early stages

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THINK GEOENERGY MAGAZINE

THINK GEOENERGY MAGAZINEIssue 01 2013

www.thinkgeoenergy.com 03

ALEXANDER RICHTERFounder & Principal ThinkGeoEnergy

From the editorBack in 1998, when I set my foot into the famous Blue Lagoon in Iceland for the first time, I never imagined ever working in geothermal energy and being able to declare a bath in Iceland’s number one tourist attraction a work trip. But here I am today, with a rather young career in this – our – global geothermal energy industry and have, on more than one occasion, enjoyed a “work trip” to a geothermal pool. So perhaps it is not so surprising that the topic of a geothermal pool finds itself woven into an article in this first edition of the Think GEOENERGY Magazine. When I founded ThinkGeoEnergy.com in 2008 as the first news website focused on the power and large-scale direct use sector of the geothermal energy industry, I always thought about creating a paper magazine as well. Many of you will ask, why create a paper magazine when everything is going digital? Well, the reason is simple; nothing beats holding a real, printed publication in your hand. Some might add that digital magazines are hard to read in the sun.

Our goal was to develop a new magazine that would not only serve as a publication for our industry, but also one we would like to perceive as a promotional tool for geothermal energy and our industry as a whole. The magazine is structured into the following key content elements: affairs, business, a specific country feature (New Zealand for this edition), development, engineering & technology and finance. It will – as thinkgeoenergy.com – focus on the global geothermal power and large-scale direct use sector, explicitly not covering the geothermal exchange/heat pump market.The content of the magazine is intended to be less time sensitive, featuring engaging stories that are interesting to readers from the industry and outside, as well as helping to promote the many opportunities that geothermal energy provides. While continuously covering global stories, each edition will focus on a certain country, providing an overview of its geothermal energy industry, development and outlook. We are starting with New Zealand, a country with a great track record in geothermal development and a highly experienced and advanced geothermal sector that is now increasingly looking at applying its know-how and experience internationally.

Think GEOENERGY Magazine will be distributed at the major geothermal energy events and also be available electronically, with an iPad version planned for the second edition. For now we are planning to run two editions per year, one in the fall and another in the spring. We hope you find the magazine as exciting as we do. For up-to-date news you can continue to tune into thinkgeoenergy.com, where you can find the latest news and updates on global geothermal development.I would like to thank all of the people who have supported us in the path of making the magazine a reality and in particular the team of Flugmalautgafan, who I am partnering with to produce this new publication.Please don’t hesitate to contact me on content for the next issue, or perhaps on why you think your country should be the focus of our attention at some time in this magazine.

Think GEOENERGY Magazine

EditorAlexander Richter

Managing EditorHaraldur Unason Diego

Director of ProductionGudmundur St. Sigurdsson

Design Linde Richter

LayoutBratislav !ikic

[email protected]

www.thinkgeoenergy.com

Address ThinkGeoEnergy ehf.

Grensásvegur 9105 Reykjavik

Iceland

PublisherThinkGeoEnergy ehf. in cooperation

with Flugmálaútgáfan.

Cover for issue 101 Nga Awa Purua Power Plan, NZ

(Picture: Mighty River Power02 Champagne Pool, Wai-O-Tapu, NZ

(Picture: © CC BY-SA, Eli Duke)03 Satellite image of New Zealand’s North

Island (Picture: NASA, public domain)

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32 |GEOTHERMAL RESOURCES AND POTENTIAL

34 |UTILIZATION OF DIRECT USE for Industrial Applications in New Zealand

36 |GEOTHERMAL PLANTS AND OUTLOOK

40 |THE GEOTHERMAL INDUSTRY IN NEW ZEALAND

44 |A NATIONAL INDUSTRY COLLABORATION for International Business Development

D47 |STATUS OF GLOBAL GEOTHERMAL POWER DEVELOPMENT

49 |SUSTAINING THE PUBLIC’S TRUST IN GEOTHERMAL PROJECTS

E52 |HOT PURSUIT From Geothermal Education to Exploration

56 |ROMANCING THE STONE Geothermal Energy’s Path to Promise

58 |DRILLING A DEVIATED GEOTHERMAL WELL

60 |GEOTHERMAL STEAM TURBINES Ready for Prime Time Base Load Power Generation

F63 |DEALING WITH RISKY BUSINESS

65 |DE-RISKING GEOTHERMAL EXPLORATION

A05 |INDUSTRY CHANGE AGENTS The Role of Geothermal Industry Groups and Associations

06 |NEW ZEALAND GEOTHERMAL ASSOCIATION Interview with Brian White, Executive Director

09 |U.S. GEOTHERMAL INDUSTRY GROUPSInterview with Steve Ponder, Executive Director Geothermal Resources Council and Karl Gawell, Executive Director Geothermal Energy Association

13 |EUROPEAN GEOTHERMAL ENERGY COUNCIL Interview with Philippe Dumas, Secretary General

16 |INTERNATIONAL GEOTHERMAL ASSOCIATION Interview with Prof. Roland Horne, President

B18 |GEOTHERMAL FLUIDS Value Creation Beyond Electricity

22 |SPA RESORT, FISH FARMING AND COSMETICS Side Businesses for Geothermal Project

C24 |NEW ZEALAND This Issue’s Country in Focus

26 |IT ALL STARTED AT WAIRAKEI Short History of Geothermal in New Zealand

38 |GEOTHERMAL’S CRUCIAL ROLE in New Zealand’s Energy Supply

30 |NEW ZEALAND ENERGY Market and Policy Framework

AFFAIRS

COUNTRY FOCUS

DEVELOPMENT

FINANCE

BUSINESS

ENGINEERING

AFFAIRSIssue 01 2013


Industry Change Agents The Role of Geothermal Industry Groups and Associations

Over the course of time, people, political movements, companies, and other entities have demonstrat-ed the value of joining forces to bolster their position and represent a unified voice. Political parties and interest groups are probably the best current-day examples and highlight how political views and beliefs can affect decision making at the various levels. Put simply, the power of numbers pushes for change and creates impact.

Companies, whether in the same line of business or different indus-tries, also often understand the need to join forces and influence decision makers. And while in the past these groups were seen mostly as pressure groups for labor and policy purposes, their perceived role today goes beyond that. They build cooperation among their members and other in-terest groups, foster the sharing of information and provide training, but also offer a variety of services to help their members grow their business.

Various types of associationsIndustry associations, per defi-nition, play an institutional and ambassadorial role by coordinating the activities of their members, as well as promoting, developing and preserving their industries. In the broad global context of geothermal energy, there are a variety of groups and associations representing the industry and its constituents, each with their own specific priorities, interests, goals, and initiatives. Some are more closely aligned to research and academia, others to the industry’s business interests through policy support and lobbying (i.e. trade associations). Others focus on co-operation for the sake of industry development and growth (i.e. clus-ter groups), or national marketing groups for business development (collaboration groups). Because these groups represent such varied interests within the industry, each approaches specific situations with a tailored perspective. They all, however, play an important role in promoting awareness of the in-

Representing the interests of the geother-mal sector is a core element of the geo-thermal industry associations, but they are doing a lot more to promote geothermal energy and the opportunities it provides.

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dustry, addressing public concerns about development of geothermal resources, and working to promote dialogue that helps create business opportunities.

Associations are often forced to cope with the sobering reality of insufficient political support: limited support for the business environment in which they function, and tenuous support in terms of fundraising. The latter in particular forces difficult de-cisions on prioritization – where to focus attention and resources. This limits the impact that an association, as an advocate for the industry and an agent of change, is capable of. At the industry level, this leads to a misalignment of interests and limitations on what an associa-tion is capable of backing. The interests of academia and the research community are in a different part of the geothermal development chain than those of a small-scale consulting firm, technology supplier, construction firm, developer, or large-scale power utility. Additionally, the reality remains that financing for geothermal projects is the largest obstacle for the industry as a whole, and in certain regions, the key barrier to wide-scale development. These challenges, coupled with ongoing compe-

01 Steam Separator Kawerau Power Plant, New Zealand(Picture: © CC-SA-BY Rjglewis)

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tition for government funds, require even more collaboration and a focus on development activities that truly help the industry grow.

Despite the natural inevitability of differences arising, the geothermal associations are all unified in the promotion of the same industry and the incontestable environ-mental benefits and opportunities created through industry growth. Instead of bunkering down and remaining fractious, associations have the ability to leverage their roles as catalysts in a united manner. There will always be some overlap in aims and goals, but no matter how large or small those overlaps may be, the more backing and support there are for initiatives universally agreeable to the geothermal industry, the better for the industry.

Industry associations can play a crucial role in this as change agents for the geothermal energy industry, both nationally and inter-nationally. We spoke with several executives in geothermal industry associations to learn more about their roles and activities. Read their interviews below. - AR

BUSINESS Issue 01 2013


Geothermal fluids have mostly been associated with power generation, but there have been efforts to extract additional value beyond heat from the mineral-rich content.

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01 John L. Featherstone Geothermal Plant, Salton Sea, U.S. (Picture: EnergySource)02 Historical prices for Lithium, Zinc and Potassium Chloride, US$/ ton (Data: USGS)03 Electric car charging station, Amsterdam (Picture: © CC BY-SA, Ludovic Hirlimann)

by Abraham Ormad & Alexander Richter, ThinkGeoEnergy

This year, the geothermal energy industry celebrated 100 years of commercial power generation at Larderello in Tuscany, Italy. Piero Ginori Conti, who started operating the first commercial geothermal plant in 1913, was – and this is not widely known – head of a company that derived boric acid from geothermal steam.

There has always been an interest in looking to derive valuable minerals from geothermal brine, but are there any examples today? Can mineral extraction become a profitable side business to geothermal power generation? In the past, some companies, mainly in the U.S., have been active in mineral extraction from geothermal brines, particularly between the 1960s and 1980s. However, experimen-tal, pilot and commercial projects have also derived minerals from brine in Mexico, New Zealand, Italy and Iceland. When geothermal fluids interact with hot rocks, the fluids become saturated with various minerals through a chemical reaction. The composition of these resulting fluids is determined by the composition of the rocks, the chemical composition of the initial fluids, and temperature and pressure during the interaction of fluid and rock mass.

Despite various efforts and projects to commer-cially extract minerals from geothermal fluids, there is only one promising commercial-scale project. Based in the Salton Sea area of Cali-fornia, Simbol Mining Corporation received a US$3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy and is itself investing $6.7 million in a project to develop the company’s initial com-mercial mineral extraction facility. The project will utilize geothermal fluids derived in the pro-cess of geothermal power generation co-located at EnegySource’s John L. Featherstone (Hudson Ranch I) geothermal power plant.

Simbol Materials is planning to derive chemicals needed in the production of batteries (lithium, manganese and zinc) from the Salton Sea hyper-

saline geothermal reservoir located in Southern California. The company expects that the geothermal fluids from each 50 MW plant will be able to produce up to 16,000 tons of lithium carbonate equivalent, 24,000 tons of electrolytic manganese dioxide and 8,000 tons of zinc metal. Simbol Materials aims to demonstrate with its project the technical and economic feasibility of geothermal mineral extraction.

HistoryLooking historically at the projects that either did or at least tried to derive minerals from geothermal fluids, it is relatively obvious that the vast majority of projects never went much beyond the experimental or feasibility phase. There have also been only a limited number

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Geothermal Fluids Value Creation Beyond Electricity

BUSINESSIssue 01 2013


In Italy, the extraction of chemical products goes back to the 11th century, but there was no geothermal association until the early 1980s when a chemical factory was set up in Larderello that extracted boric acid from geothermal fluids. The time between 1850 and 1975 was the most productive and commercial phase for boric acid produc-tion. In the 1920s other products, such as sodium perborate, ammonium carbonate and carbonic acid, were extracted from geothermal fluids.

In 1970, Japan set up an experimental proj-ect to recover lithium from geothermal brine with initial successful results. The project was carried out by the Department of Envi-ronmental Science, Department of Metallurgy and the Kyushu Institute of Technology in the Hatchobaru and Othake areas in Kiushu.

Other projects, such as in the Cheleken area of western Kazakhstan in Russia, never reached large-scale production. In Kenya, a project extracted CO2 from shallow geothermal wells for making dry ice, and a demonstration project on Kimolos Island in Greece showed the technical feasibility of seawater desalination.

In 1979, a pilot plant in Iceland was built and operated for several years, producing sodium chloride as a fishery salt (production of salted cod). On the basis of this experimental plant, a bigger one was erected in 1983 under the name of Reykjanes Geo-chemicals with the purpose of producing sodium chloride, potassium and calcium chloride. The plant increased its production through the 1990s, but after five years of operation, the plant was closed due to technical problems and other factors. A new company, Arctic Sea Salt, plans to start production of health salt at Reykjanes in 2014, with a newly patented method and an estimated future capacity of 30-50,000 tons/year.

Other projects have been mentioned for Ethiopia and Chile, but no further details are currently available.

Applications and costsIn a paper by Leon Lehr, “Potential for by-product recovery in geothermal energy options” (1982), it is described that “economics of mineral extraction [from geothermal fluids] are driven by geothermal fluid characteris-tics, specific by-product(s) to be recovered, quantity, quality, value, marketability, type of geothermal energy conversion system used, size of energy facility, regulatory waste treat-ment and disposal requirements.”

of pilot plants. Worldwide, only four projects ever reached a commercial production stage. The only ongoing project now is the Salton Sea project by Simbol Mining.

The United States was one of the first countries to start investigating byproducts from geother-mal operations, mostly in the 1960s, but only two plants ever reached commercial operation. One of these two plants was developed and op-erated by Morton International in the Imperial Valley, California. It produced small amounts of calcium chloride, potassium chloride and other salts, but due to a drop in salt prices in the late 1960s, production was stopped.

In the 1970s, two water desalination projects were developed, but never reached a commercial stage. A study established geothermal desalination to be a feasible but uneconomical concept due to the specific conditions in New Mexico.

One of the companies that has been very active in mineral extraction is CalEnergy. In 1998, the company built a small demonstra-tion plant at its Elmore geothermal plant. For a ten-month period, it successfully produced 41,000 lbs. of high-grade zinc. In 2002, CalEnergy set up another plant at the Salton Sea with the goal of producing 30,000 metric tons of 99.99-percent pure zinc, but due to technical problems, the company shut down the project in 2004.

Co-funded by the California Energy Com-mission and the U.S. Department of Energy, the Lawrence Livermore National Labora-

tory conducted a pilot-scale demonstration of silica extraction at Mammoth Lakes in 2000. The project aimed to demonstrate the technical and economic feasibility of metal and mineral co-production of silica from geo-thermal fluids. The economic analysis from the results of the demonstration showed the feasibility and favorable rates of returns. The technology is now being utilized by Simbol Mining Corporation at its Salton Sea project.

Around the same time, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Geothermal Technology Program carried out a study at Coso in California, and Dixie Valley and Steamboat Springs in Neva-da. The goal was to obtain more information about the extraction of silica, but there is no information available about the current state of this study.

In Mexico, government-owned Fertilizantes Mexicanos (Fertimex) established a pilot project at the Cerro Prieto geothermal power facilities in the 1970s. The plan was to process potassium chloride with a target of 80,000 tons per year for the production of fer-tilizers. During the final construction phase, the international prices for potash collapsed and the project was abandoned.

The possibility of silica extraction was explored in a pilot plant at the Wairakei geo-thermal power plant in New Zealand in the mid-1990s. A study carried out on the project concluded that the production of silica would be possible but there were concerns about the amount of aluminum and calcium and their impact on the final product.

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COUNTRY IN FOCUS – NEW ZEALAND Issue 01 2013


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New Zealand - 60 years of geothermal power development

COUNTRY IN FOCUS – NEW ZEALANDIssue 01 2013


New Zealand has a long history of utilizing geothermal resources. Described as a “geothermal won-derland” in tourist guides, the country fascinates with natural volcanic and geothermal activity. It is this geothermal activity that has helped form Maori history and legends such as those of Ngatoroirangi. It is these resourc-es – the Ngawha (mud pools), the puia (geysers) and the waiariki (hot springs) – that were used by the indigenous people for bathing, cooking and community life, becoming locations around which habitation developed and associated Marae (community meeting areas) established. The European spa culture started to permeate the hot spring areas of New Zealand in the mid-19th century. Waiwera was the site of the first spa developed in 1842 with other areas follow-ing. Rotorua became a focus

energy market and the main legislation framework. We are going to look at the geothermal resources, their utilization and the key parties in the New Zea-land geothermal sector.Today, New Zealand has 18 geothermal power plants with a power generation capacity of around 960 MW. Fifteen percent of New Zealand’s electricity is currently generated from geo-thermal energy. This is up from a level of about 7% in the 2000 to 2005 period as a consequence of significant investment in new geothermal capacity in New Zealand since that time.

Two very active groups represent the NZ geothermal industry – the New Zealand Geothermal Association (www.nzgeothermal.org.nz), focused on in-country geo-thermal sector interchange, and Geothermal New Zealand (www.

Each issue of the Think GEOENERGY Magazine will cover one particular country or region. For our first issue, we start with New Zealand.

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01 Nga Awa Purua Geothermal Power Plant, Taupo, NZ (Picture: Mighty River Power)02 Waimangu geothermal spring, Rotomahana, NZ (Picture: © CC BY-SA, Kristina D.C. Hoeppner)

of serious spa and medicinal activity from 1878 as part of the broader tourism ventures associated with Rotorua and the geothermal areas nearby, such as the Pink and White Terraces at Lake Rotomahana. Utilization of the underground geothermal resources for larger-scale energy production was a feature of the 20th century, with large-scale direct heat use at Kawerau and electricity generation at Wairakei commencing later in the 1950s. Today, New Zealand is ranked 4th in the world for installed geothermal power generation capacity and New Zealand exper-tise was formative in assisting the Philippines and Indonesia to be ranked 2nd and 3rd respectively.

With New Zealand in focus, we want to provide an overview of the history of geothermal energy development in the country, its

1 Wairakei – first large-scale geother-mal power plant in the world to gener-ate from a liquid-dominated resource (commissioned 1958-1963)

2 Geothermal power generation capacity of 960 MW – ranking 4th in the world

3 Geothermal contributes around 15% of NZ electricity (August 2013)

4 Geothermal contributes around 20% of primary energy supply (August 2013)

5 Wairakei/ Te Mihi/ Pohipi: largest geothermal facility on one resource at combined 345 MW

geothermalnewzealand.com) with a focus on large-scale develop-ment outside of New Zealand.

The country hosts one of the lon-gest running annual geothermal conferences, the New Zealand Geothermal Workshop, which will hold its 35th annual event this year in Rotorua.

The Geothermal Institute (www.geothermal.auckland.ac.nz), with a mission to train both New Zealand and international students in geothermal methods and technology, was founded in 1979 by the University of Auckland. The Institute has been at the forefront of geothermal training, with more than 850 graduates completing courses.

New Zealand geothermal firms are involved in geothermal developments and in training of geothermal expertise in many nations of the world. With the current flat electricity demand coupled with recent new builds of power plants (including geo-thermal power stations), major New Zealand developers are now talking about 3-5 years before the next round of major local development recommences, so the NZ geothermal industry is in-creasingly looking outside of the country for sector growth. - AR

6 Contact Energy and Mighty River Power represent more than 800 MW together

7 Strong national Geothermal As-sociation (NZGA) with around 345 members

8 Strong scientific, engineering and geothermal energy consulting expertise

9 NZ Geothermal Institute at the University of Auckland has graduated more than 850 geothermal trainees

10 NZ Geothermal Workshop key annual conference on the world geothermal calendar

Quick facts on Geothermal Energy in New Zealand

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Country in Focus New Zealand



The New Zealand energy market has been the domain of the central government in Wellington for over 100 years. The market and its regulatory framework, however, have seen larger and smaller changes throughout that time. Under the Electricity Act of 1992, the NZ government established the Electricity Commission in 2003 to regulate the market.

The Commission was replaced with the Electricity Authority in November of 2010 to narrow the focus of regulatory overview on industry competition, reliability and efficiency in the New Zealand Electricity Market. The Authority acts as “an independent Crown entity responsible for the efficient operation of the New Zealand electricity market.”

In its key functions, it registers industry par-ticipants, develops and administers the Elec-tricity Industry Participation Code, monitors and enforces compliance with the Code, acts as a market administrator, contracts providers of market operations services, and facilitates market performance.

There are, though, several functions that are reserved for other bodies. Consumer protection in the energy market falls under the scope of the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, and electricity efficiency is monitored by the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority.

Monitoring of reserve energy, emergency planning and security of supply information are tasks performed within the state-owned transmission company Transpower.

While the Treaty of Waitangi of 1840 is today widely accepted to be a constitutional docu-ment establishing and guiding the relationship between the government of New Zealand and Maori natives, certain controversies remain. The partial sale of Mighty River Power by the NZ government raised debates over land and water rights with conflicting legal positions held by Maori groups and the NZ government.

Legislation, and in particular the Resource Management Act of 1991, is helping to blend in the perspectives of native groups on geo-

New Zealand has a well-structured energy market, and joint geothermal development with Maori tribes has helped overcome different views on ownership rights in geothermal resources.

New Zealand Energy Market and Policy Framework

Blessed with geothermal resources, New Zealand has created an effective market environment for development

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COUNTRY IN FOCUS – NEW ZEALANDIssue 01 2013


thermal development. To this day, geother-mal resource ownership is still not possible under the Common Law in New Zealand. The Waitangi Tribunal in 1993 provided some protection and rights to Maori on “surface features” as “treasured possessions,” providing Maori groups certain powers towards pro-posed development.

Various large Maori tribes hold some prime geothermal land in New Zealand, but a limited number of Maori groups have developed projects utilizing their geothermal resources. In some cases, they have teamed up and established a joint ownership model with com-panies such as Contact Energy and Mighty River Power in the development of geothermal power plants on Maori land. This seems to have assisted in combining Maori interests and the interest of power companies, such as Mighty River Power and Contact Energy, to develop geothermal power plants to provide New Zealand with renewable base-load geo-thermal power.

For the government of New Zealand, in its 2011-2012 Energy Strategy, the “abundance of natural resources” is the main element and driver to “make the most of all assets [NZ] has, including hydro, wind, geothermal, oil, gas and minerals.” New Zealand’s goal is set to have 90% of electricity generation coming from renewable sources by 2025.

Seen as a setback by many, New Zealand has recently (in August 2013) scaled back on its target for reducing carbon emissions, from ini-tially 10-20 percent below 1990 levels by 2020, to five percent by 2020. The country is still on target to achieving 90% of its electricity from renewables by 2025, currently deriving around 70% of its electricity from those sources. - AR

Sources:New Zealand Electricity AuthorityNew Zealand Ministry of JusticeElectricity Authority of NZWhite, B; Morris, G., Lumb, T., “New Zealand Geo-thermal Resource Ownership – Cultural and Histori-cal Perspective” (1995), White, B; Morris, G., Lumb, T.

Key pieces of legislation:

Electricity Act 1992Electricity Industry Act 2010 and related regulationsElectricity Operators Order 2000Energy Efficiency and Conserva-tion Act 2000Energy Resources Levy Act 1976Energy Companies Act 1992Electricity Industry Participation CodeEnvironment Act 1986Resource Management Act 1991

01 NZ Parliament Building, Wellington, NZ (Picture: © CC BY, Bruce Tuten)02 Power lines, Rotorua, NZ (Picture: © CC BY-SA, thetejon)03 Maori meeting house at Whakarewarewa, Rotorua, NZ (Picture: © CC BY-SA, Evan Goldenberg)

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Since the installation of only the second com-mercial geothermal power plant at Wairakei, New Zealand has been in the forefront of geothermal development. Today, geothermal plants have been built at Wairakei, Rotokawa, Kawerau, Mokai, Ngatamariki, Ohaaki, Ngawha and Tauhara, with additional development planned at the fields of Tikitere and Rotoma.New Zealand has today an installed capacity of 957 MW, with additional projects to add 335 MW by 2020. This ranks New Zealand number four among the top 10 countries with geother-mal electricity generation capacity.

WairakeiThe Wairakei geothermal field is where it all began, with the construction of the first geo-thermal power plant in New Zealand in 1958. From an initial 69 MW, field capacity has been increased to its current 231 MW. The field contains three operating plants: the Wairakei plant with 157 MW and a 5 MW backpres-sure unit, the Wairakei binary plant with 14 MW, and the Poihipi plant with 55 MW installed. The new Te Mihi plant will produce around 166 MW, but as it relieves some of the previous capacity, the total addition will be 114 MW when online by the end of 2013. All of the Wairakei plants are operated by Mighty River Power.

Ngawha/ NorthlandThe only field not to be found in the Taupo Volcanic Zone is the Ngawha field in the Northland of the North Island of New Zea-land. An initial 10 MW plant was installed and started operating in 1998 and with a later extension of 15 MW, the overall capac-ity is today at 25 MW. The plant is operated by Top Energy.

KawerauIn 1966, the paper mill company Norske Skog built a 10 MW plant in the geothermal field of Kawerau. A number of plants have been built since, with six currently running a combined capacity of 143 MW. KA24 has a capacity of 8.3 MW and is operated by Eastland Generation. Tasman BP with 8 MW, and the newly added Topp1 plant adding 16 MW, are operated by Norske Skog. Mighty River Power operates the 100 MW Kawerau plant and Ngati Tuwhareteo Geothermal runs TG1 and TG2, two binary plants with a combined capacity of 5.9 MW. The Te Ahi OMaui geothermal project by Eastland Generation, the Kawerau A8D Trust and IDG plans to add a further 15 MW to the field.

MokaiThe first geothermal plant in the Mokai field started operating in 1999 with an installed capacity of 55 MW. With plant extensions in 2005 and 2007, it now operates with an in-stalled capacity of 111 MW. The Mokai Plant is jointly owned by Tuaropaki Power Co. and Mighty River Power, with the latter holding 25% ownership and managing plant operation.

Geothermal Plants and Outlook

01 Location of NZ’s geothermal plants, North Island (ThinkGeoEnergy Power Plant Map) 02 Geothermal electricity generation capacity by country 2013, in MW (ThinkGeoEnergy)

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ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY Issue 01 2013


Building a career in geothermal or joining the Geothermal Good Life

ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGYIssue 01 2013


Though it has had reliably heated buildings for two millennia and generated electricity since 1904, geothermal remains a modest and astonishingly unrecognized player in the renewable energy sector. The complexities of the technology coupled with the high capital costs and associated risks admittedly make geothermal power plants a harder sell than wind turbines and photovoltaic panels. However, the benefits of geothermal are immense in its ability to generate cheap and clean baseload “green” electricity, and the capacity to support a vast array of cascaded direct uses (fruit drying, heating, fish farming, etc.). But what ini-tially draws people to geothermal and how can one best prepare

My interest was stimulated and from there I dove deeper and deeper into the literature.

As with many disciplines, a review of published material can provide a decent theoretical launch pad – but there is no substitute for practical experi-ence. For this reason I encourage all geothermally minded students to pursue internship opportuni-ties. I was fortunate enough to land a summer internship with GNS Science at the Wairakei Research Centre in New Zealand during the summer of my third undergraduate year. Upon arrival to the North Island, and after a (near) crash-course in how to drive stick on the “opposite side of the road,” I was put directly to work and spent the entire sum-mer learning from some of the world’s top geothermal scientists. With fumarole-dotted land-scapes, acid-sulfate pools, boiling hotsprings, and the comforting feeling that the ground you’re taking a water sample from is about to explode, it doesn’t take long to realize the amazing ener-gy potential of geothermal sys-tems in the Taupo Volcanic Zone. Upon returning home, I took a little bit of New Zealand with me; figuratively with my secured passion for geothermal, and quite literally with twenty kilograms of rock samples that formed the basis of my undergraduate thesis. I’m confident that my time at GNS was mutually beneficial and I urge companies to take on student interns, as it is a both a key component to fortifying the next generation of researchers and a relatively inexpensive source of labor.

Depending on a person’s specific interests, technical post-graduate degrees in engineering (reservoir, well, mechanical, electrical), earth sciences (geology, geochemistry, geophysics, hydrology), and envi-ronmental science are all relevant educational backgrounds for a career in geothermal exploration and development. There are a handful of institutions that offer geothermal-centric degree and

With an ageing geothermal professional community and increasing geothermal development activities, there will be an increasing need to educate and train the geothermal workforce of tomorrow.

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01 Dr. Bruce Mountain on a sampling expedition at the Champagne Pool, Wai-O-Tapu, New Zealand. Picture: Ryan Libbey

by Ryan Libbey, PhD candidate at McGill University, VP Geology at ADAGE Venture, Co-Founder and Lead of the Canadian Geothermal Research Council (CanGRC)

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for a technical career in the field? This article sets out a number of potential entry points for those interested in becoming involved with the geothermal industry, along with anecdotes from my own experiences. I also provide an outlook of what is in store for the next generation of geothermalists.

In and out of the classroomI became interested in geo-thermal energy early in my undergraduate studies due to a combined interest in geology and “green” energy technologies. My first notable introduction to geo-thermal was through a textbook titled Renewable Energy: Power for a Sustainable Future. Geother-mal was nestled behind a chapter on wave energy and was the final technology covered in the book (presumably Godfrey Boyle was saving the best for last). This chapter in my copy of the book was quickly transformed into a decorative mess of multicolored highlights and densely penciled side notes.

Hot Pursuit From Geothermal Education to Exploration

THINK GEOENERGY MAGAZINEIssue 01 2013


THINK GEOENERGY MAGAZINE Issue 01 2013


think geoenergy magazine - issue 01 2013 preview

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