Geothermal energy top of the agenda

Geothermal energy top of the agenda

November 9, 2015

Next week’s NZ Geothermal Workshop at Taupo’s Wairakei Resort will be top of the agenda for Auckland company International Earth Sciences (IESE).

The conference will run from November 18-20 and is expected to draw figures in the industry from around the world. And the choice of the location isn’t a coincidence.

Wairakei, which is located just north of Taupo, is considered to be the birth place of the geothermal energy industry in New Zealand and was one of the first energy plants of its type to be tested in the world.

International Earth Sciences (IESE) specialises in geothermal and micro-seismic analysis and principal seismologist Dr. Carolin Boese says she’s looking forward to the three day event.

“It’s one of the most internationally recognised conferences for the geothermal industry and the largest annually held in New Zealand.”

The seismologist will help lead a short course the company has helped organise on geothermal methodology and techniques at the resort onNovember 16 and 17 prior to the start of the actual conference.

She will be joined by fellow IESE scientist Peter Wameyo who has extensive experience working in geothermal energy around the world, including in Mexico, Kenya and Iceland.

The course will also include presentations by Matthew Zengerer from Intrepid Geophysics and Dr. Manfred Hochstein, an emeritus professor from the University of Auckland who has been affiliated with IESE since 2008.

Geothermal energy uses heated water and steam from deep below the earth’s surface to produce electricity and is a source of clean energy. The fact it can be used to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels, at the heart of the global push to cut greenhouse gas emissions and help combat climate change, means it has a bright future.

The Wairakei geothermal field is part of the Wairakei-Tauhara geothermal system and is located just north of Taupo. In the 1950s the New Zealand government started investigating the use of steam to generate electricity. When power generation began on November 15, 1958, Wairakei was only the second geothermal power plant in the world.

The Wairakei Power Station is currently owned and operated by Contact Energy Limited and celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2008. It remains an important national source of electricity.

IESE specialises in geothermal and micro-seismic analysis and grew out of a project by the now defunct University of Auckland Institute for Earth Sciences and Engineering. The company has been going for just over a year, but has already secured multi-million dollar contracts in Mexico, Japan, Germany, Indonesia and New Zealand. The IESE team includes an array of international experts in geology, seismology, physics and instrumentation and data analysis technology.

For more information on International Earth Sciences go to www.iese.co.nz

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