"New Zealand has an abundant supply of geothermal energy because we are located on the boundary between two tectonic plates. ... Total geothermal electricity capacity in New Zealand stands at over 900 MW, making us the fifth largest generator of geothermal in the world. It has been estimated that there is sufficient geothermal resource for another 1,000 MW of electricity generation."

That's not all that much. That total would be about equal to the 75th largest nuclear plant in the world.

Good sites where high temperatures are near the surface are rare. California has a few, but no promising locations for more.

> That's not all that much

May not be much in world terms but here in NZ national demand maxes out at around 5.5GW so bringing another GW on stream would be quite handy. Most of the geothermal is a lot closer to Auckland* than our hydro is so so that would be another positive aspect.

* Auckland has 25% of the population so a corresponding amount of energy has to be pushed its way.

> That's not all that much.

We don’t have many people. It gets worse’s though, we burn coal and are looking to fund a gas terminal. We have abundant other ways of generating power and subsidise an aluminium smelter for some reason.

Coming up next, data centres.

‘Clean, Green New Zealand.’

>no promising locations for more.

Isn't there a super volcano in the middle of the country? Maybe there are some adjacent hot spots outside of the national park?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellowstone_National_Park

Is there any earthquake risk from drilling near tectonic plates?

There are also places in the US with boiling water at the surface. I live near one of those places so always curious about geothermal. There's a spot near my house in a creek bed where snow always melts even in deep winter so apparently I have some potential heat source. Our well water is cold though.

Not near me, but hot water spring, rivers and beaches made for a nice soak every now and again.

Turning them all into power plants would be a shame, but there is plenty of space for both.

You don't necessarily have to choose one or the other. The Blue lagoon in Iceland is a famous example. The water comes from a power plant nearby.

You're not required to site them that close either, because of how regional the conditions usually are. A couple miles plus or minus doesn't change things too much.

You brought the conversation in a circle, since the point of this new technology is the geology you speak of is rare.