1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:02,000 Speaker 1: More energy is on the way and it's coming from 2 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:05,640 Speaker 1: below our feet. Energy mister Shane Jones announcing yesterday plan 3 00:00:05,760 --> 00:00:09,280 Speaker 1: to double our production of geothermal energy by twenty forty. 4 00:00:09,520 --> 00:00:12,360 Speaker 1: He says we have the potential to be a world 5 00:00:12,480 --> 00:00:16,680 Speaker 1: leader in the geothermal sector. Stuart Hamilton is Mercury Energy 6 00:00:16,760 --> 00:00:19,640 Speaker 1: CEO with me this morning. Hey Stuart, good morning, How 7 00:00:19,640 --> 00:00:21,880 Speaker 1: are you good? Thank you? What did you make of this? 8 00:00:22,079 --> 00:00:24,520 Speaker 1: I mean it's a first of all, it's a draft plan, 9 00:00:25,280 --> 00:00:27,920 Speaker 1: but is there enough meat on the bones for you? 10 00:00:28,960 --> 00:00:31,240 Speaker 2: Yeah, it's a good start, we think. Looking Zilland's already 11 00:00:31,240 --> 00:00:34,720 Speaker 2: a global leader in gffrmal energy production, and we've produced 12 00:00:34,720 --> 00:00:38,160 Speaker 2: about twenty percent of our christy from geoffrmal compared to 13 00:00:38,440 --> 00:00:40,400 Speaker 2: a place like the US where it's less than one 14 00:00:40,479 --> 00:00:43,640 Speaker 2: So we've definitely got huge potential to not only just 15 00:00:43,760 --> 00:00:47,800 Speaker 2: use this to decarbonize, as it actually potentially grow our 16 00:00:47,840 --> 00:00:50,840 Speaker 2: economy and various advanced technologies like supercritical. 17 00:00:51,120 --> 00:00:53,159 Speaker 1: Why do we need the government to be stumping up 18 00:00:53,159 --> 00:00:55,040 Speaker 1: money for drilling new wells? 19 00:00:55,680 --> 00:00:59,200 Speaker 2: So welling is that drilling wells is a huge upfront 20 00:00:59,240 --> 00:01:02,640 Speaker 2: cost and large risk in geofrmal development. So we drill 21 00:01:02,720 --> 00:01:06,160 Speaker 2: wells are about three kilimeters deep, and each well cost 22 00:01:06,240 --> 00:01:10,440 Speaker 2: is about fifteen to twenty million dollars. So despite extensive investigation, 23 00:01:10,600 --> 00:01:13,520 Speaker 2: sometimes you can miss that hot liquid under our feet. 24 00:01:13,880 --> 00:01:17,160 Speaker 2: And when each geofrmal field needs about ten to twenty wells, 25 00:01:17,160 --> 00:01:19,440 Speaker 2: it's a pretty large upfront cost and risk. 26 00:01:20,280 --> 00:01:22,280 Speaker 1: How do you know where the hot liquid is? Well, 27 00:01:22,280 --> 00:01:24,200 Speaker 1: obviously it's not an exact science. 28 00:01:25,040 --> 00:01:27,280 Speaker 2: Exactly that you can do quite a lot of investigation 29 00:01:27,360 --> 00:01:30,200 Speaker 2: from the surface to get an understanding of what where 30 00:01:30,200 --> 00:01:31,959 Speaker 2: the liquid might be and when the heat might be, 31 00:01:32,280 --> 00:01:34,200 Speaker 2: but it's not until you actually start drilling that you 32 00:01:34,200 --> 00:01:36,440 Speaker 2: get a feel for whether you've got both the heat, 33 00:01:36,480 --> 00:01:38,959 Speaker 2: but you actually need to have the hot liquid as well, 34 00:01:39,000 --> 00:01:40,400 Speaker 2: so you need both of those in combination. 35 00:01:40,840 --> 00:01:42,480 Speaker 1: When are we going to start drilling or are we 36 00:01:42,560 --> 00:01:46,199 Speaker 1: already you know, more than five k's for the real 37 00:01:46,240 --> 00:01:47,040 Speaker 1: potent stuff. 38 00:01:48,120 --> 00:01:51,440 Speaker 2: Yeah, So the super critical is something which we're working 39 00:01:51,480 --> 00:01:54,240 Speaker 2: on at the moment. There's probably going to be it's 40 00:01:54,480 --> 00:01:57,000 Speaker 2: sort of in development over the next couple of years. 41 00:01:57,200 --> 00:01:59,600 Speaker 2: But despite that, in the meantime, we're actually doing quite 42 00:01:59,600 --> 00:02:02,640 Speaker 2: a lot of work with conventional GF thermal so mercury. 43 00:02:02,640 --> 00:02:05,880 Speaker 2: For example, we're currently doing a three hundred million dollar 44 00:02:05,920 --> 00:02:08,280 Speaker 2: expansion of one of our sites and that will come 45 00:02:08,320 --> 00:02:11,760 Speaker 2: on stream early next year and produced enough power for 46 00:02:11,919 --> 00:02:13,840 Speaker 2: the whole of the city of Wellington, for example. So 47 00:02:14,000 --> 00:02:17,040 Speaker 2: we're pushing pretty hard with just the conventional geof thermal 48 00:02:17,560 --> 00:02:19,400 Speaker 2: in conjunction with the supercritical. 49 00:02:19,600 --> 00:02:22,680 Speaker 1: If we were to double what the Minister says we 50 00:02:22,680 --> 00:02:25,680 Speaker 1: should be doing, doubling the production of geothermal energy by 51 00:02:25,720 --> 00:02:28,840 Speaker 1: twenty forty how many holes do we need to drill? 52 00:02:28,960 --> 00:02:30,400 Speaker 1: You know, how much is this going to cost? 53 00:02:31,320 --> 00:02:35,680 Speaker 2: Yeah, it's pretty significant, So doubling our energy and even mercury. 54 00:02:35,880 --> 00:02:38,399 Speaker 2: We've got our own sort of goals to actually double 55 00:02:38,440 --> 00:02:40,799 Speaker 2: our size by twenty thirty five. So there's a fair 56 00:02:40,840 --> 00:02:43,280 Speaker 2: bit of investment, and we're talking billions of dollars and 57 00:02:43,320 --> 00:02:46,120 Speaker 2: potentially just the whole of the electricity sect there has 58 00:02:46,120 --> 00:02:49,120 Speaker 2: another ten billion dollars worth of investment over the next 59 00:02:49,120 --> 00:02:53,160 Speaker 2: five years alone. So that's a significant investment in the industry. 60 00:02:53,160 --> 00:02:55,000 Speaker 2: But that's absolutely needed. 61 00:02:55,600 --> 00:02:58,960 Speaker 1: And we'll be paying for that through higher prices of electricity. 62 00:03:00,040 --> 00:03:03,639 Speaker 2: Qickly, what happens is we taken it part of our 63 00:03:03,760 --> 00:03:06,040 Speaker 2: the money we're making an investor back into the sector. 64 00:03:06,120 --> 00:03:08,040 Speaker 2: So over the half of the money that we've made 65 00:03:08,080 --> 00:03:10,079 Speaker 2: in the last couple of years actually goes back into 66 00:03:10,600 --> 00:03:13,320 Speaker 2: new and existing power stations. 67 00:03:13,800 --> 00:03:17,040 Speaker 1: Hey, appreciate your time this morning. Stuart Stuart Hamilton, Mercury 68 00:03:17,120 --> 00:03:21,720 Speaker 1: Energy Chief Executive on Shane Jones' big geo thermal steam 69 00:03:21,800 --> 00:03:25,480 Speaker 1: up yesterday. He was quite excited by this. Interestingly, he 70 00:03:26,200 --> 00:03:29,079 Speaker 1: because he got in big trouble the day before, got 71 00:03:29,120 --> 00:03:31,920 Speaker 1: the night before when he made his little tweaks to 72 00:03:32,000 --> 00:03:34,680 Speaker 1: the oil and gas band reversal, which has taken them 73 00:03:35,360 --> 00:03:39,200 Speaker 1: sweet amount of time. But yesterday there was all the 74 00:03:39,280 --> 00:03:43,040 Speaker 1: scientists under the sun. We're coming out loving Shane Jones. 75 00:03:44,200 --> 00:03:50,360 Speaker 1: What an exciting time, said Isabelle chamber Fought from Energy Futures. 76 00:03:50,400 --> 00:03:52,560 Speaker 1: She says, what an exciting time. The strategy lays the 77 00:03:52,560 --> 00:03:55,720 Speaker 1: groundwork for a national, forward looking and collective approach to 78 00:03:55,840 --> 00:03:59,360 Speaker 1: the next generation of geothermal energy. But just lapping it 79 00:03:59,440 --> 00:04:03,920 Speaker 1: up Professor Barry Barton, he says this is a significant 80 00:04:03,920 --> 00:04:08,360 Speaker 1: move from the government. Interestingly, he also points out that 81 00:04:08,360 --> 00:04:15,720 Speaker 1: there are Maldy stakes in geothermal unresolved claims against the 82 00:04:15,760 --> 00:04:20,160 Speaker 1: Crown through the White Tangi Tribunal over geothermal areas, So 83 00:04:20,240 --> 00:04:22,480 Speaker 1: what happens there and What does Shane think about all 84 00:04:22,520 --> 00:04:26,159 Speaker 1: of that? For more from Early Edition with Ryan Bridge, 85 00:04:26,240 --> 00:04:29,720 Speaker 1: listen live to news Talks it'd be from five am weekdays, 86 00:04:29,960 --> 00:04:32,000 Speaker 1: or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.