Geothermal heating 'not feasible' for all

Gina Peiffer loves her geothermal heating PHOT0/BEN FRASER

GINA PEIFFER says the only way she will move out of her house is in a box.

A tad morbid but that is her description of how much she loves living in her thermal-heated home on Lake Rd.

"We used to live on Malfroy Rd, in a freezing-cold house, it was horrible," Mrs Peiffer said.

"I came across this [rental] property and the day I went to look at it, it was miserable and wet outside and as I walked in I just felt the heat, every inch of the house is dry and warm.
We have unlimited hot water, which I don't have to pay for, we can turn the thermal on
and off and it takes about five minutes to reheat a room.

"It's great for drying clothes, I've never used the clothesline."

Brad Scott (right), GNS Science volcanologist, and Tim Cossar, Te Puia chief executive, at the previously dormant Papakura geyser in the Whakarewarewa valley.

The thermal heating has also eased the cost of the family of four's power bill.

"We would probably pay about $60 to $100amonth during winter. We moved from a four-bedroom house to this two bedroom one but the sacrifice of the two rooms was well worth it."

Homes like Mrs Peiffer's were more common pre-1980s in Rotorua, as bore numbers leaped in the two decades previously. This caused a decline in geothermal activity, in particular in Whakarewarewa.

In 1980, the Minister of Energy and the Rotorua District Council set guidelines for drilling and the use of geothermal.

A monitoring programme began in 1982 and a taskforce was formed to investigate the extent of the geothermal fluid draw-off and investigate ways to reduce it.

In 1986, the Government ordered the closure of all bores, 106, within a 1.5km radius of Pohutu Geyser at Te Puia and the closure of all government department bores in Rotorua city.

During that period the number of bores dropped from 376 to 141 but following the closures the geothermal ground levels increased. Figures from the Bay of Plenty Regional Council show as of May last year there were 71 consented takes for geothermal for domestic use in Rotorua. The management of geothermal resources in Rotorua is now under review by the Bay of Plenty Regional Council.

Aroha Bray also lives in a thermally heated home but other members of her
family are not so lucky, she said.

"I feel really fortunate to have secured my geothermal property because we are never cold during the winter seasons and our monthly electricity bills are also very low and affordable," she said. "This kaupapa (issue) needs to be seriously investigated because I feel it is so unfair that a lot more homes cannot be heated using all the free geothermal
heat we have right here on our back doorstep.

"I have an uncle who still lives on Tarewa Rd, he is now 78 years old and he can recall all the times when their bores were shut off because the Pohutu Geyser was not performing well enough and the big decisions that the whanau on Tarewa Rd had to make during that time."

Her uncle, Manahi Bray, said they were forced to close their bore in the 80s.

"The Government of the day told Rotorua residents that they could have their bores turned back on but at a cost of $18,000 per year plus more money to update and maintain the bores (systems) on a yearly basis," he said. "When one particular bore was shut
down on Tarewa Rd, it caused another neighbouring bore to build up under the
ground, which then caused the ngawha (spring) to blow up, completely ruining two home units on Tarewa Rd.

"The two homes had to be demolished."

Mr Bray said they were happier times for households back then. "Because the whanau were able to have mineral hot baths at night time, they were able to cook their kai in their
individual steam boxes at the back of their homes and their homes were nice and warm all the time because of the radiator heaters placed throughout their
homes."

In 2012, the regional council requested a report from GNS Science to consider the feasibility of geothermal heating as an alternative to current home-heating practices for existing properties. According to the report, only 5 per cent of households in the area used geothermal for its main source of heating.

Regional councillor Lyall Thurston said geothermal was recognised as an important asset for the region, offering significant potential to grow the region's economy and social communities. However, it was vital that the resource was sustainably managed for the long term benefit of the region and its local communities, he said.

"This research concluded that while geothermal heating is a good form of heating, offers a low running cost, is clean, renewable and reliable, the cost of initial set-up is much higher than conventional heating systems and to convert existing homes to geothermal heating, as opposed to more conventional heating systems [such as] wood burners, costs could range from $21,000 to $80,000 per household, depending on the geothermal technology used," Mr Thurston said.

"In addition, homes would also need a retrofitted space-heating system to circulate the heat, and these costs could range from $16,000 to $18,000. "GNS concluded that retrofitting existing properties to geothermal heating was not feasible, mainly due to
the extremely high capital cost which is unaffordable for most homeowners," he said.

The Rotorua Lakes Council also funded an investigation through Grow Rotorua, Mr Thurston said. "Their investigation looked at tethering existing residential properties to an established commercial geothermal system. Their research indicated that the capital costs to do this showed similar results to the GNS report."

Bay of Plenty Regional Council said if too much was taken from the geothermal system, it could be damaged and have a negative impact on the geothermal features.

Mr Thurston said that, with careful management, it was believed the geothermal systems would continue to provide energy indefinitely; however, if too much was taken from the system, it could be damaged and have a negative impact on the geothermal features.

"The recent revival of some of the features in the [Whakarewarewa] Valley, such as Papakura Geyser, have been directly attributed to the bore closure programme in the 1980s which sought to provide some protection for the resource," he said. "In order to ensure an ongoing balance between current use and future development, to provide protection for the public in using the natural resource and the sustainability of the resource itself, [the regional council] has embarked on a programme of work to review the management of the resource and collect robust scientific data on which to base future planning."

Mr Thurston said there was still not enough information on actual take, which was critical in determining whether there was further capacity in the system.

Rotorua Lakes Council said its goal was supporting reinvigorated neighbourhoods and the creation of healthy homes-homes which were insulated and affordable to heat.

"The vision is to use local renewable, sustainable, affordable resources for district heating schemes that could also contribute to improving our air quality. "We will consider innovative and alternative solutions, including exploring how we might be able to achieve synergy between geothermal and bio energy," Sustainable Living Portfolio lead councillor Janet Wepa said.

"We do recognise, however, that we will be bound by any restrictions that apply through the Rotorua Geothermal Management Plan and anything we did would also need to be economically viable."

Mayor Steve Chadwick said the council wanted to reclaim Rotorua's former title as the spa capital of the South Pacific, as that had been identified as a key driver for developing the city's tourism economy.

"It's a vision shared by others. We received a boost recently when Prime
Minister John Key announced the Government, through its Tourism Growth Partnership fund, is investing $350,000 to support the World Spa project -the development of a new spa complex on Rotorua's lakefront," Mrs Chadwick said.

"The potential for spa and spa-related developments in Rotorua is huge and could take our tourism industry to the next level. People around the world are living longer and focused more on wellness, so the health and wellness benefits of hot-spring and spa
treatments are a real selling point on many levels."