New Zealand publishes guide for geoheat adoption for businesses
Rotorua, New Zealand (source: Sircha at English Wikipedia, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
Carlo Cariaga
8 Aug 2025
New Zealand has published a detailed guide for businesses for the adoption of geoheat technologies, or the direct use of geothermal for heating and cooling.
The New Zealand Geothermal Association (NZGA) has published a Geoheat business guide that provides businesses with practical guidance on adopting geoheat, or the direct use of geothermal energy for heating and cooling. The guide was created in collaboration with GeoExchange NZ and Traverse Environmental with support from the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA).
Click here to access the full document, “Geoheat business guide in Aotearoa New Zealand.”
Geothermal resources are widespread across Aotearoa, extending beyond the well-known high-temperature fields of the central North Island. These resources include ambient and geothermally enhanced groundwater, as well as deeper thermal systems associated with fault zones, remnant volcanism, and the natural geothermal gradient. While high-temperature systems are typically used for electricity generation, Geoheat technologies enable the direct use of lower-temperature geothermal resources for industrial, commercial and building-scale applications.
Geoheat offers a locally sourced, renewable, and stable thermal energy supply that is independent of weather conditions. It supports long-term energy security, operational efficiency, and decarbonisation. When integrated with ground source heat pumps, which utilise warmth stored naturally in the ground and in large bodies of water, Geoheat systems can provide both heating and cooling with high energy performance and reduced demand on the electricity grid.
Industrial applications of geoheat is already a well-established practice in New Zealand, as demonstrated by the dairy processing facility of Miraka Dairy in Taupo and the toilet paper and tissue manufacturing of Essity in Kawerau.
The guide tackles the basics of geothermal resource types while providing high-level guidance on available technologies to harness geoheat, including ground source heat pumps and ground heat exchangers. Potential geoheat users can also benefit from a overview of the resource consent framework, including the distinction between regional and territorial authority functions, and the importance of early planning and engagement with mana whenua and other potentially affected parties.
Source: EECA
