New Zealand has presented an ambitious draft strategy to unlock its geothermal potential, aiming to double geothermal energy production by 2040 for both electricity generation and direct heat use.
The country currently hosts 17 geothermal power plants across eight geothermal fields, representing a combined capacity of 1,207 MW. The country’s geothermal output stood at 8,741 GWh in 2024, making up for 19.9% of the country’s annual electricity generation.
Titled From the Ground Up, the draft strategy outlines a “focused pathway to geothermal leadership” in terms of development and innovation. The document is now open for consultation until September 12, 2025.
Five action plan goals have been identified to focus the government’s approach. Namely, to improve access to geothermal data and insights; ensure that regulatory and system settings are fit for purpose; and advance knowledge and uptake of geothermal technologies. Other major goals are to enable place-based geothermal clusters, as well as drive science, research, and innovation, including supercritical geothermal technology.
“Our unique geographic position on the boundary of both the Australian and Pacific tectonic plates, coupled with the Earth’s thin crust along that rift, gives us a significant geological advantage in expanding the use of this abundant natural resource, resources minister Shane Jones said.
“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.”
New Zealand has been a global leader in geothermal energy since the late 1950s, but despite its resource, development faces some challenges, such as high upfront drilling costs, fragmented access to data, complex and dated regulatory settings, and the scale of the sector.
The country opened its first geothermal plant, at the time the world’s second such facility, in 1958. The Wairakei plant is owned by Contact Energy and has a capacity of 132 MW.
