Latest news with #EmissionTradingScheme
RNZ News
30-07-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Government plans to double geothermal energy produced for electricity and heating
Resources Minister Shane Jones. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone The government has released a draft plan to double the amount of geothermal energy produced for electricity and heating within 15 years. Resources Minister Shane Jones said the draft strategy would unlock New Zealand's geothermal potential, extend New Zealand's position as a world leader in geothermal innovation and strengthen regional economies and the Māori economy. "I see potential for our geothermal sector to expand and diversify into areas such as the extraction of minerals from geothermal fluid, the development of globally sought-after innovation and science, and more use of direct geothermal energy to power industrial, commercial and agricultural applications," he said. According to the Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), New Zealand's first, and the world's second, geothermal power station was Wairakei͕, which opened in 1958 and in 2024 geothermal fields generated almost 20 percent of the country's electricity. Contact Energy's Tauhara geothermal power station opened in late 2024. Geothermal heat is also used for industrial processes including drying timber and manufacturing tissues. Upfront costs for drilling new wells have been put at $10-15 million per well. The draft strategy said much of the current infrastructure was built on exploration by the Crown decades ago, and there needs to be more coordination between scientists, government, industry and tangata whenua. Among the proposals are "recalibrating" planning laws to be more enabling and adaptive, using government-private partnerships to fund feasibility and demonstration projects, commissioning new research and making data on geothermal resources publicly available. The draft plan also proposes reviewing the Emission Trading Scheme settings to see if they are limiting the uptake of geothermal heat. Also on the list are exploring a new Geothermal Centre of Excellence, looking at tourism opportunities in Taupō and Tarawera in partnership with iwi, and considering the need for Crown involvement in exploration or modelling. The draft timeline points to possible Crown-backed exploration starting from 2029. No funding has yet been attached to the proposals. The country's electricity demand is expected to rise by 68 percent over the next 25 years. Geothermal power can be used to underpin rapid growth in solar and wind generation, as the government aims for its goal of doubling the supply of renewable energy. Like hydro power, geothermal energy can provide a low-carbon and consistent source of electricity when the sun and wind aren't generating enough supply. But unlike hydro, the government sees big potential for geothermal to grow - and it doesn't rely on rainfall levels. The government has previously ring-fenced $60 million from the Regional Infrastructure Fund to explore for supercritical geothermal resources , extra-hot fluids below 5km deep. The government said $5 million of that funding has been drawn down for work on the detailed design and cost to drill the first of three exploratory deep wells in the Taupō Volcanic Zone. The strategy is open for submissions until 12 September.
Scoop
21-07-2025
- General
- Scoop
Idea To Turn Public's Iconic Molesworth Station Into Pines Crazy
The suggestion that Molesworth Station could be turned into a giant pine monoculture is crazy says Alan Simmons of the NZ Outdoors and Freedom Party. 'It's even more crazy coming from the Department of Conservation who have failed to control wilding pines on public lands it is entrusted by parliamentary law to manage,' said Alan Simmons. 'The option from DoC to hand it over to forestry interests to plant as one huge pine forest is appalling to many and sends a shudder through all those who love and appreciate our NZ back country environment.' Molesworth is such an iconic environment owned by the New Zealand public and valued for its vast wilderness landscape and currently run as a huge beef high country station. Well known outdoorsman Alan Simmons said DoC is completely out of touch with reality and to the contrary there is a strong case not to plant any more pine trees because of their detrimental effect on the environment. 'Pines are invasive, suck up huge quantities of water and deplete stream and river flows to the point of drying them up, poison the soil by turning it acidic, if and when harvested the slash waste is a huge problem for land owners downstream while clear felling results in heavy siltation of rivers and coastal waters such as the Marlborough Sounds.' He said economic benefits were marginal as most logs are exported raw overseas and imported back as processed timber. Pine forests provide no real work for New Zealanders apart from harvesting and resulted in depopulation of rural communities and closure of community infrastructure such as schools. Environmentally monocultures of pines resulted in considerable loss of biodiversity. Alan Simmons said perhaps DOC saw the concept of a giant pine forest in backcountry Marlborough as climate change mitigation. However the amount of grassland and native vegetation on Molesworth Station already contributes to any climate change goals. Besides the criteria of the Emission Trading Scheme (ETS) is flawed such as not considering vegetation under five metres height. "The thought of planting 446,705 acres or 700 square miles into pine forest turns my stomach" said Alan Simmons.'Molesworth needs to remain a vast wildness for future generations to enjoy. Our past experience with forests once owned by New Zealanders is that they end up overseas owned and we end up locked out. An example is Kaiangaroa Forest in the Central North Island or the many former State forests of the Hawkes Bay now overseas owned. " He predicted any attempt to turn Molesworth Station into a mega-pine forest will set off a public outcry equal to the Save Manapouri campaign of the 1970's.
