"What have we done with it to date?" she asked. "We can't keep using and being dependent on petroleum, gas and coal."
Mrs Chadwick said two aspects of the new council's 2030 vision were residential renewal and creating healthy homes. Heating and insulation using direct heat from geothermal resources was part of that.
She said Rotorua sat at the epicentre of a geothermal cluster that included Kawerau, Taupo and south Waikato and those areas were starting to work together to combine ideas.
"This [workshop] is a fantastic start," she said, adding she would be holding a debrief on the workshop with Grow Rotorua by the end of the week. "I ask you to, in your business, think of geothermal and start to use geothermal and see it as an absolute hassle-free source of energy. Then we won't become as dependent in this region on coal and gas."
Dr Lund, who has consulted on geothermal direct use projects in 45 countries, gave attendees examples of the ways in which geothermal energy was being used around the world.
While 24 countries used it to generate electricity, 80 used geothermal energy in other ways, he said.
That included greenhouse heating, heating ponds and raceways in aquaculture and industrial applications such as drying timber and milk pasteurisation.
He even gave the example of a friend in California who had converted his small commercial laundry, saving money by powering his washers and dryers from geothermal resources.
Later in the day, after case studies from local businesses, Dr Lund elaborated on how to develop a direct use geothermal project and the factors to be considered.
Yesterday, the attendees visited the Alpin Motel, Arataki Honey at Waiotapu, Waikite Thermal pools and PlentyFlora at Horohoro for a first-hand glimpse of direct heat projects.
The workshop ended with a group discussion on how to progress opportunities in and around the Rotorua region.
