This report was triggered by a ministerial press statement which our Beehive watchdogs last week filed in the “what the hell does that mean?” category.
The statement came from the Coalition Government’s master of verbosity, Shane Jones, but it contained an expression which we expect will be employed by politicians disposed to “wokeness”.
He said:
Progressing a holistic strategy to unlock the potential of New Zealand’s geothermal resources, possibly in applications beyond energy generation, is at the centre of discussions with mana whenua at a hui in Rotorua today.
A holistic strategy?
What’s that?
We found it hard to believe Jones would have allowed a bullshit PR phrase like “Progressing a holistic strategy to unlock the potential of New Zealand’s geothermal resources” to sully the press statement issued in his name.
Thus we supposed he might have been enjoying a long lunch somewhere with his fishing or mining company friends when the release went out.
But then we checked other releases from Jones office.
A holistic strategy?
What’s that?
We found it hard to believe Jones would have allowed a bullshit PR phrase like “Progressing a holistic strategy to unlock the potential of New Zealand’s geothermal resources” to sully the press statement issued in his name.
Thus we supposed he might have been enjoying a long lunch somewhere with his fishing or mining company friends when the release went out.
But then we checked other releases from Jones office.
- 28 August 2024
Jones drew attention to a new report “on New Zealand’s mineral endowment” (another way of saying New Zealand’s minerals) which – he said – identified prospects for development, enabling a strategic and considered approach to growing the country’s resources sector.
The report, done by GNS Science as part of the draft Minerals Strategy for New Zealand, brought together extensive research, geological, geochemical and geophysical studies, as well as mapping of geography and mineral deposits.
“We have long known New Zealand has a rich and vast minerals estate but have lacked a holistic and comprehensive picture of what they are and where they might be found,” Mr Jones says.
Whoo-hoo.
- 15 September 2024
The List identified 35 minerals essential to economic functions which are in demand internationally, and face high risk of supply disruption domestically and internationally.
“Together, the list and the endowment report are deliverables of the draft Minerals Strategy for New Zealand and provides us with a holistic minerals picture in terms of what we need and what we have which is all about setting our sector up to focus on the right minerals at the right time in the right places,” Mr Jones says.
- 31 January 2025
A new direction for the minerals sector to grow the economy
The occasion was the launch of the Minerals Strategy for New Zealand and the government’s Critical Minerals List.
He said:
The Minerals Strategy for New Zealand adopts a strategic lens out to 2040, focusing our approach to the development of our minerals estate with a delivery roadmap to get us there. This is a holistic picture of minerals production from the earth, from reprocessing waste material, and from potential recycling and recovery.
On the latest occasion, we hauled out our dictionary to check on the meaning of “holistic”
The Cambridge Dictionary defines it as meaning:
dealing with or treating the whole of something or someone and not just a part:
This suggests the government is progressing a strategy to unlock all of the potential of New Zealand’s geothermal resources. Not just some of it.
Certainly it is spending big bucks on the work.
In November last year, Judith Collins, then Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology, and Shane Jones, as Regional Development Minister, announced up to $60 million would be ring-fenced from the Regional Infrastructure Fund to invest in exploring the potential of supercritical geothermal technology which could help secure New Zealand’s future energy needs
“Geothermal energy is sourced from extremely hot rock heated by magma. At present, conventional geothermal wells are drilled to a maximum depth of about 3.5km. However, scientists believe that by drilling beyond this, possibly to 6km deep, more energy will be available,” Mr Jones says.
“The energy generated from supercritical geothermal technology (SCGT) could be up to three times greater than current geothermal energy from steam. In the long term this could be a game-changer for New Zealand and potentially internationally, with other countries also chasing solutions to energy challenges.”
Initially only $5 million of the funding is to be drawn down for work on the detailed design and cost to drill the first of three exploratory deep wells in the Taupō Volcanic Zone.
“We will need to fully understand whether the engineering technology to harness the energy can be developed before we consider releasing any further funds beyond the initial $5m,” Ms Collins says.
“Developing and proving the drilling and engineering systems for extracting SCGT will be a big challenge and is globally ground-breaking.”
The initiative would be led by GNS Science and the Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment (MBIE).
The work would be informed by GNS Science research which was funded by MBIE’s Endeavour Research Fund and years of other studies at the Taupō Volcanic Zone.
The Regional Infrastructure Fund is a capital fund with the primary purpose of accelerating infrastructure projects, particularly with a focus on water storage, energy, and resilience, that will make a difference in the regions.
Funding is approved in principle and announced, after which contracts are negotiated. Some funding may depend on completion of business cases. Payments are made once agreed milestones are met. These are set as part of contract negotiations and differ from project to project.
The Crown would engage with stakeholders, particularly local iwi and hapū, on opportunities for involvement.
Good thinking. Local iwi and hapu get very stroppy if they are not consulted.
Unlike other aggrieved parties who think they should have been consulted, local iwi and hapu are apt to go to the Waitangi Tribunal.
Jones said in the latest statement the Coalition Government is in the early stages of considering how the abundant but underutilised natural resource could be used to bolster energy security, as well as in applications such as tourism, mineral resources, science and technology, regional and Māori economic development.
A hui with iwi from around the Taupō Volcanic Zone last week had provided an opportunity to discuss the potential of supercritical geothermal technology.
“In the longer term this could be a game-changer for New Zealand’s energy sector and potentially internationally, as other countries chase solutions to their energy challenges. Our geothermal resources aren’t at the mercy of the weather gods in the same way renewable energy sources such as hydro, solar and wind are. This is particularly important in the context of energy security,” Mr Jones says.
The $5 million previously mentioned obviously has not been spent, because Jones said:
A total of $5m of the $60m government funding will be drawn down for work on the detailed design and costs of drilling the first of three deep exploratory wells in the Taupō Volcanic Zone.
Then he brought Māori interests into considerations:
“Māori have a long history of utilising geothermal resources for heating, cooking, and therapeutic purposes, and are now actively involved commercially in developing and operating geothermal energy generation, glasshouse food production using geothermal heat, and tourism ventures,” Mr Jones says.
“I am excited to start a conversation about where we go next. New Zealand has a proud history of innovation. Harnessing geothermal energy for electricity generation is an area in which we have achieved success and international recognition. Having a geothermal strategy we can all get behind will be invaluable and I want to do that with the experience and expertise Māori will bring.”
They might be able to bring experience and expertise.
But how much will they be chipping in?
Before the meeting last week with around 40 iwi groups from around the Taupō Volcanic Zone, which stretches from Mount Ruapehu to the Bay of Plenty, RNZ reported Jones would be trying to convince iwi of the benefits of tapping geothermal energy under Māori-owned land at a hui in Rotorua.
Jones said if the Māori land owning community see potential in geothermal energy he wants to find some common ground.
He said he is expecting to launch a geothermal strategy later this year.
“So we might say we won’t do this geothermal, someone could set up 10 kilometres away on some private land and they could suck our field and there’s nothing we can do about it.”
Robbie Watt, the “Tumuaki” of Tūwharetoa Geothermal based in Kawerau, said Tūwharetoa was interested in exploring the opportunities supercritical geothermal can bring as well as improving the existing geothermal infrastructure. The wells Tūwharetoa Geothermal currently run are around 2.5ks deep.
“This hui is an opportunity to explore how the Crown and iwi groups like Tūwharetoa could go about that, but certainly [it is] not something we’d be doing on our own.”
Watt said supercritical drilling needs more technical assessment and understanding to make sure it won’t impact existing geothermal operations and he is interested to hear how the Crown might cover that risk off.
“The Crown would be looking to take a risk position on the deep geothermal because I don’t think that any iwi group would be looking to participate in that risk profile given it’s a technology that’s unproven internationally, let alone nationally.”
Is that where $60 million of government funding comes into play?
Bob Edlin is a veteran journalist and editor for the Point of Order blog HERE. - where this article was sourced.
4 comments:
A great description of Shane Jones: "master of verbosity". I always think of his speeches as "florid and bombastic". I am not sure he deserves the acclaim he is receiving from conservatives at present. Obviously we have very few options as voters until a really worthwhile leader appears. It seems though, all our politicians are captured by the Maorification process of New Zealand to a certain extent. Where will all this lead in the future with all these Maori partnerships? The politicians are capturing the people at their most vulnerable when many are finding the cost of living getting out of hand. We have to vote for the best available option. One party bans oil and gas which was outrageous. Another enters into "Maori partnerships" with tourism and oil and gas exploration. Not much of a choice for sensible voters.
Pass all the money making issues in to law and then legislate so Māori are the benefactors?
“ $60 million of government funding” - that’s $60m of taypayers’ money. As Margaret Thatcher said “It is your tax which pays for public spending. The government have no money of their own. There is only taxpayers' money.” Let’s hope Shane Jones is spending our money more wisely these days.
Maori "might be able to bring experience and expertise" - yeah right, in geothermal power production with bore hole drilling to 6km deep, yet alone the existing 3.5km! No, it's just another potential trough - a purported taonga to be exploited at the expense of everyone else. A claim over the sun can't now be far off. And what did that hui cost the taxpayer? It'll just be one of many, as this new gravy train gathers speed. Energy, water, foreshore/seabed, conservation estates, and in Te Harvey Norman today (aka The Post), Lower Hutt City Council has been busy earmarking private property as Sites and Areas of Significance to Maori (SASMs). So yet more potential consultations and restrictions now on private land. The rorts continue as we advance to He Puapua, and sucker taxpayer and ratepayers continue to allow this to happen?
Honour the Treaty; Act in the utmost good faith - what a joke that's on all of us, but this one doesn't have a happy ending for most.
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