Efforts are being made by scientists in New Zealand to reach deep for pockets of energy they speculate are buried somewhere between 5 and 7 km below the Earth's surface. There may be enough hot water locked in underground reservoirs to power more than half the country's households. The only problem is finding these pockets and tapping the stored heat energy.

A four-year project is under way to install "plumbing" in the country's most attractive geothermal region, the Taupo Volcanic Zone, in the central North Island, according to this article. The depths involved are about twice the existing geothermal drillings at the moment. According to project leader, Greg Bignall (GNS Science), there could be potential for production of as much as 10 GW of electricity annually, for the next 100 years. New Zealand is aiming for "20% renewable energy sources", but if the new study proves the scientists right, they could be able to reach quite a bit more.

Scenery from the Taupo Volcanic Zone. (Image: geysergazing.com)

So far, New Zealand is generating about 10% of the country's electricity needs from geothermal sources, drilled to depths of up to 3.5 kilometers. Drilling to depths double that is very expensive, so everyone wants to be sure there is enough potential to be tapped, before spending tens of millions of dollars.

GNS Science is working on a 3D computer model of the deep layers in the area, in collaboration with scientists at Industrial Research and Auckland and Victoria Universities. If findings are positive, the scientists hope that will give geothermal development companies the confidence to start deeper drilling and reach the hidden potential down there.

[via: Think Geoenergy]