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Geothermal power in New Zealand is a small but significant part of the energy generation capacity of the country, providing approximately 13% of the country's electricity〔(Geothermal Energy and Electricity Generation ) (from the New Zealand Geothermal Association website. Accessed 2013-10-04.)〕 with installed capacity of 854 MW.〔 New Zealand, like only a small number of other countries worldwide, has numerous geothermal sites that could be developed for exploitation, and also boasts some of the earliest large-scale use of geothermal energy in the world. Geothermal energy has been described as New Zealand's most reliable renewable energy source, above wind, solar and even hydroelectricity, due to its lack of dependence on the weather. It has also been described as the currently (2000s and 2010s) most attractive new source of energy for New Zealand, as petrochemical fuel prices rise and easy hydro power sites have been tapped - though some warn that the easier geothermal sites now have also been built on, making future large-scale projects more cost-intensive. == Geothermal fields == The exploration of New Zealand's geothermal fields has been very extensive, and by the 1980s, most fields were considered mapped, with 129 found, of which 14 are in the 70-140 °C range, 7 in the 140-220 °C range and 15 in the >220 °C range. Currently, some potential new geothermal fields are being surveyed that have no surface expression.〔 New Zealand's high-temperature geothermal fields are mostly concentrated around the Taupo Volcanic Zone (which also has most of the currently operating generation capacity),〔 in the central North Island, with another major field at Ngawha Springs in Northland. However, more systems (some of them potentially exploitable) are scattered all over the country, from the Hauraki Plains to the Bay of Plenty to numerous hot springs in the South Island, most of them associated with faults and other tectonic features.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 title=Geothermal Fields )〕 Many applications of geothermal energy in New Zealand reinject the cooled steam / fluid back into the underground fields, to extend or infinitely use the fields as power sources.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Geothermal power in New Zealand」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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