Ngāwhā Geothermal Power Station is live

Geothermal energy from the new power station supplies 95 percent of the Far North’s electricity demand for the year, thanks to input from a GNS Science team’s specialist expertise in planning geothermal energy developments. Excess power is exported to the rest of Northland through the national grid.

GNS Science’s role has spanned the life of the project from feasibility studies to well testing. It started with production of a numerical reservoir model that was used to assess the feasibility and impact of the proposed expansion. Then a detailed three-dimensional model of the geothermal reservoir was used to help in the positioning of the new wells.

GNS geologists were present on the rig during the drilling programme. After the wells were drilled, scientists developed a test programme and analysed the results to provide estimates of their capacity.

Top Energy have begun a three-year period of monitoring the geothermal field to ensure that the field performs similarly to the model prepared by GNS Science.

Electricity generated from geothermal energy will play an increasingly important role in New Zealand’s energy mix. It offers a renewable energy source that is not susceptible to climatic conditions, such as wind, sunshine, or rainfall. The generation model also sees the geothermal fluids extracted injected back into the underground reservoir, minimising environmental impacts and maintaining the reservoir fluid mass.

Energy consumption is expected to rise sharply in coming decades as New Zealand electrifies various sectors in moving to a low-carbon future. As the energy Crown Research Institute, GNS Science is a vital player in helping to unlock geothermal resources for New Zealand.