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An Auckland businessman and some private investors say they have found a way to generate all the power New Zealand is ever likely to need without depleting natural resources.
John Lehmann said the system used underground heat to power generators and had worldwide potential.
The "dry-well power" did not deplete ground water or steam, had no environmental impact and would "last forever, or until the earth cools down", Mr Lehmann said.
He said the system had the potential to eliminate power shortages in New Zealand. "There is no reason in a couple of years why they should be talking about power shortages ... we could have more power in this country than we know what to do with."
The system used a 38cm bore to tap into heat underground and drive a generator. Mr Lehmann said the bore would probably need to be 300m to 350m deep but that would depend on the depth of the heat field.
The system could generate power once the temperature had reached 140C but 300C would be ideal.
Power could cost less than 1c a kilowatt/hour to produce - far cheaper than conventional power generation.
"We have done all our figures. We even had a prototype running and it works very well ... it is very, very simple."
- NZPA
