Geothermal Week comes to Taupō

To celebrate NZ Geothermal Week, Amplify and the NZ Geothermal Association have assembled events for industry, schools and the local community, wrapped around the NZ Geothermal Association’s annual Winter Seminar.

NZ Geothermal Week is back for a third year running, with 20 events in and around the wider Taupō Volcanic Zone packed into one week from July 24-29.

Co-hosts Amplify and the NZ Geothermal Association have assembled events for industry, schools and the local community, wrapped around the NZ Geothermal Association’s annual Winter Seminar.

This year’s theme is ‘Energy Transitions in Aotearoa – The Role of Geothermal’.

About 18.5 per cent of New Zealand’s electricity comes from geothermal generation. This number is expected to grow to 25 per cent by 2028, with new developments and expansions coming online.

Contact Energy is offering a rare opportunity for locals to take a behind-the-scenes guided tour of the Wairakei steam field and Te Mihi Power Station.

Taupō District Libraries is hosting a geothermal-themed Toddler Time at both the Taupō and Tūrangi libraries, sharing the story of Ngātoro-i-rangi, with a scavenger hunt next door at the Taupō Museum.

Those with a creative lean are challenged to put their lens on geothermal, with cash prizes and framed prints up for grabs in three categories in the Mercury Geothermal Photography Competition.

For the Taupō business community, the Amplify & Contact Energy BA5 networking event on the Wednesday night is the hottest ticket in town, having sold out in previous years.

Future generations have an important role to play, as both kaitiaki and the future workforce, and there are several opportunities for students to get involved with ‘the heat beneath their feet’.

Geothermal industry ‘Steam ambassadors’ will be heading out to 20 schools in the Taupō, Rotorua and Whakatāne districts to share their passion for geothermal with students and explain how Steam – science, technology, engineering, arts and maths – is applied in the industry through hands-on learning experiences.

GNS Science has also issued science challenges for teams of students to tackle in the Geothermal School Science Competitions, with House of Science learning kits and iPad prizes for winning schools and teams.

More than 4,500 people have attended events since the event week was launched in 2021. Event organisers are expecting another great turnout in 2023, with over 200 geothermal industry delegates already booked to come to town.

This exciting and growing event week is now a regular fixture on the Taupō event calendar and has been made possible by co-hosts Amplify, the economic development agency for the Taupō district, and the NZ Geothermal Association, along with the industry sponsors and partners Contact Energy, GNS Science, MB Century, Bay of Connections, Cheal, Mercury, Mitchell Daysh, Western Energy, Worley, Women in Geothermal and the Thermal Explorer Highway Regional Event Fund.

See the NZ Geothermal Week 2023 website for full event details and to register: www.taupo.biz/nz-geothermal-week-2023.