Geothermal energy is an important contributor to New Zealand’s electricity supply. But extracting geothermal energy affects the geothermal features and the surrounding environment. Reusing and reinjecting geothermal energy and fluid, and managing the geothermal system as an integrated whole to development helps to minimise the effects.

How much we use

Primary energy – In 2011, New Zealand’s total primary energy supply was 818 petajoules (PJ). Twenty percent (159 PJ) of New Zealand’s primary energy came from geothermal sources ¹.

Primary energy comes directly from natural sources such as the sun, gas and oil, wood, coal and geothermal energy:

• Industries use it for process heat.
• Gas is used in vehicles and for cooking and heating.
• Households use it for heating (burning wood and coal, using geothermal heat and water).
• It is also turned into electricity.

Primary energy obtained from geothermal sources is forecast to increase to 30 per cent of the total by 2030². Estimates say we could extract between 30,000 and 57,000 PJ per year of geothermal energy using present technology³. But this could lead to irreversible effects, such as the destruction of geysers and other surface features, and land subsidence.

Electrical energy - In 2011, New Zealand’s total electrical energy supply was 155 PJ per year. Geothermal energy from the power stations in the Waikato region provides about 20 per cent of our national electricity supply.¹.

Waikato region - The Waikato region provides 90 per cent of the primary geothermal energy extracted in New Zealand⁴. Of the geothermal energy extracted, only 15 per cent is converted to a useable form¹. The rest is re-injected or disposed of into the environment as heat. In the Waikato region there are about 60 separate industries, accommodation facilities and tourist facilities that take small amounts of heat for direct uses. (Barns and Luketina 2011, Valuing uses of the Waikato Regional Geothermal Resource, 2011/ 15, Waikato Regional Council, Hamilton.)

Where the power stations are

New Zealand has thirteen geothermal power stations. Nine are in the Waikato region. There are plans to build others and expand existing stations, in the Waikato, Bay of Plenty, and Northland regions. The table below lists the stations in our region.

Geothermal power stations

Geothermal system	Site	Owner(s)	Productive output (MW)	Year built
1. Wairakei-Tauhara	Wairakei	Contact Energy	140	1958
	Wairakei Binary	Contact Energy	14	2005
	Poihipi Rd	Contact Energy	55	1997
	Te Huka	Contact Energy	23	2010
2. Rotokawa	Rotokawa	Rotokawa Joint Venture	30	1998
	Rotokawa B	Rotokawa Joint Venture	6	2003
	Nga Awa Purua	Tauhara North No. 2 Trust	140	2010
3. Mokai	Mokai A	Tuaropaki Power Company	55	2000
	Mokai B	Tuaropaki Power Company	37	2005
	Mokai C	Tuaropaki Power Company	17	2007
4. Ngatamariki	Ngatamariki	Rotokawa Joint Venture	82	2013
5. Ohaaki	Ohaaki	Contact Energy	45	1988

 

As well as these large power stations, about 60 commercial operations extract small or medium quantities of geothermal water and energy in the region. Most operations take the water from wells or springs, but others take water from hot streams such as the Onekeneke at Taupō. This heated water is used mainly for public baths or motel pools.

Geothermal systems extend under large areas of land. To find, develop and extract these economic sources of geothermal energy and fluid resources (sometimes as deep as five kilometres below the Earth’s surface) requires large capital investment and complex infrastructures.

What extraction does

Although only a fraction of geothermal energy is currently used, the environmental effects have been dramatic.

Since the 1950s, the number of geysers in the region has fallen because of heat and fluid extraction and the effects of overlying land uses. When water extraction prevents pressure from reaching the level necessary to fuel the geysers, they disappear. As a result, many sinter-depositing springs and geysers and their associated ecosystems were  lost with the development of the Wairakei Geothermal Power Station.

Use our map to find out more about the state of geothermal features in the Waikato region.

The extraction of heat and fluid can cause land subsidence. For example, a marae near Ohaaki Geothermal Power Station is sinking and runs the risk of being inundated by the Waikato River, as the ground it sits on subsides.

Effects on other parts of the natural environment are summarised in the table below.

Environmental effects of geothermal contaminants⁵

Contaminant	Adverse effects	Source of contaminant
Arsenic	Lethal at high levels. Lower doses cause a wide range of illnesses including cancer. Toxic to humans, fish and plants. Levels in the Waikato River from Wairakei to the sea exceed drinking water standards. Levels in water cress exceed food standards. The beds of some of the Waikato hydro lakes are identified as contaminated land because of high concentrations of arsenic in the sediment.	Natural geothermal discharges. Separated water from geothermal wells discharged into water.
Boron	Toxic to humans at high levels. Toxic to some crops at low levels.	Natural geothermal discharges. Separated water from geothermal wells discharged into water.
Heat	Elevated water temperatures may kill fish and aquatic life. Fish may avoid water if the temperature rises even slightly above their preferred level.	Separated water and condensed steam from geothermal wells discharged into water. Cooling water passed through geothermal power stations.
Hydrogen sulphide	The ‘rotten egg’ smell. This discharge can cause death if concentrations build to dangerous levels in enclosed areas and are inhaled. It can also cause corrosion. Toxic to fish.	Discharges to air from the de–gassing of geothermal fluid. Natural geothermal discharges.
Carbon dioxide	A greenhouse gas. This can kill if found in high concentrations in enclosed spaces, such as in power stations.	Released by geothermal powerstations at a rate of about 1/3 that of cas-fired powerstations6.
Mercury	A toxic element. Accumulates in the food chain. Mercury concentrations in some fish from the Waikato River exceed recommended levels for human consumption7.	Discharged into air from geothermal cooling towers and into water from geothermal wells.

Find out more about the arsenic levels in the Waikato River.

Reducing the effects

In the past, once geothermal fluid extracted for electricity generation had been through the power station, any excess heat and fluid was discarded. Now increasingly, other industrial and domestic processes use the discarded heat and fluid before it is reinjected into the geothermal system. This means less of the energy extracted is wasted, and less heated water is produced as a by-product. For example:

• A prawn farm near Taupō heats its own freshwater by running it across pipes containing geothermal water used by its neighbour, the Wairakei Geothermal Power Station.
• At Ohaaki, geothermal heat is used to treat timber.

Developers must obtain resource consents prior to developing geothermal areas. The resource consent process requires consultation with iwi and considers potential effects on waahi tapu and other significant sites. Significant adverse environmental effects must be avoided, remedied, or mitigated.

Each power station needs a set of about 15 resource consents to cover such activities as taking geothermal fluid and fresh water, and discharging steam and other gases to air, reinjection of geothermal fluid to ground or its discharge to land or water, drilling geothermal wells, and building and maintaining roads.

Find out about how the Mokai Geothermal System is being managed.

Footnotes

1. New Zealand Energy Data File January 2011, Ministry of Economic Development
2. NZ Energy Outlook to 2030, August 2012, Ministry of Economic Development
3. Lawless, J. and Lovelock, B, 2001. New Zealand’s Geothermal Resource, in New Zealand Geothermal Association 2001 Seminar Proceedings.
4. Sinclair Knight Merz Ltd, 2006: Regional renewable energy assessment : Waikato region, Sinclair Knight Merz Ltd.; Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA), 2006
5. Drinking water standards referred to in this table are defined in: Ministry of Health.2005: Drinking Water Standards for New Zealand 2005. Ministry of Health, Wellington.
6. New Zealand Energy Data File January 2011, Ministry of Economic Development
7. Energy Greenhouse Gas Emissions 2011
8. National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research. 1995: Mercury and Arsenic in Waikato River Fish. NIWA Consultancy Report SCJ129/06. NIWA, Hamilton.