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Kiwi engineers have a golden era looming for geothermal technology “The future for geothermal projects is very bright and will provide many opportunities for specialists in the field to export their skills in regions where they are lacking and in high demand,” says Jim Lawless, the geoscience manager for Sinclair Knight Merz (SKM). New Zealand has been an industry leader with two remarkable periods of geothermal activity. The first was in the early development of the technology from the 1950s to the mid 1960 when pioneering geothermal power plants were built on the volcanic plateau, and in the USA and Italy. Wairakei was the world’s second large geothermal power plant, and the first to be based on a liquid dominated resource, says Lawless, while the Kawerau pulp and paper mill represented the world’s first large scale industrial use of geothermal. “New Zealand led the world in geothermal science and technology for liquid dominated geothermal systems and held an enviable position with regard to real project achievements,” says Lawless. “Many of the methods developed here in the second half of the 20th Century became industry standard. By the 80s all of New Zealand’s high temperature geothermal resources had been located and most had been drilled. That is a situation that few other countries in the world can claim even today.” The second wave of world-wide geothermal development (late 70s to early 90s) occurred before the economic crash in Southeast Asia when private financers showed their interest and there was a flush of interest from international developers, he says. “During this period, New Zealand made a huge contribution to the development of geothermal in other countries, initially through bi-lateral aid programmes, later through commercial consultancy.” In the process several New Zealand technology companies gained, and still retain, world-leading positions, he says, and Kiwi consultants, engineering designers and service companies still enjoy a worldwide reputation, having been involved in one way or another on more than half of all large geothermal projects world-wide, in more than 20 countries. During the early part of this century, falling government investment in research and the loss of the Geothermal Institute place us in serious danger of falling behind, says Lawless. By 2004 there were a number of specific technologies developed overseas that were not being used here, because of extremely low power prices and a lack of direct incentives for developing renewable energy. These included advanced down-hole geophysical tools such as FMI to improve geological understanding and improve the success rate of drilling, and the use of passive micro-seismic arrays to detect active faults which represent permeable targets, which also improves the drilling success rate. “I am pleased to say that the situation has now turned around. These modern techniques are starting to be used in New Zealand and research funding has increased. The Geothermal Institute has re-opened, albeit in a new guise, and the establishment of the Clean Energy Centre in Taupo is a welcome development.” A new growth phase for the domestic geothermal industry provides a strong base for the export of skills, he says. “In Indonesia, where SKM has maintained a presence since the early 1980s, there are plans to mandate 10,000MW in renewable energy projects, of which 6000MW is to be geothermal – this in the richest geothermally active part of the world.” There are also strong programmes in East Africa, new projects in Iceland, and a resurgence in developing geothermal energy in the Philippines, where the industry has been privatised. “There’s also a phenomenal resource available in Chile, together with renewed development in Central America and a range of mining and minerals companies looking at geothermal power for mine site power and or process energy.” Geothermal is a services-intensive sector that requires a wide spectrum of input from geosciences, drilling, bespoke engineering and power plant construction and project management, he says. “New Zealand is one of the few centres of excellence in geothermal markets around the world, all of which are struggling to deal with the growing demands from developers. Our industry currently turns over about $50 million a year in services, but to take full advantage of the growth in the market this may have to grow five fold in the coming years.” The lack of younger technically trained personnel and the competition for geosciences resources from the mineral and oil industry will challenge our potential to achieve the benefits as a leader in geothermal power, he warns. “Nevertheless, opportunities like this are rare enough and the strength of tradition and momentum in New Zealand on geothermal power projects gives SKM and other specialists just the right platform to reach for growth.”
Energy NZ No.6 Spring 2008 |