Te Arawa may yet be big power player

Greg Taipari | 21st January 2010

Te Arawa and other local iwi and hapu could play a significant role in New Zealand's future power supply, says Rotorua kaumatua Rawiri Te Whare.

The general manager of Te Pumautanga o Te Arawa, the trust which negotiated the Waitangi Treaty Settlement on behalf of the iwi, says the organisation is examining the possibility of geothermal electricity generation on Maori land in Rotorua.

"There are positive signs that some of the Maori-owned land in this region is endowed with sufficient geothermal resources to make the construction of geothermal power plants a viable option," he said.

Mr Te Whare said the Electricity Commission was interested in evaluating the geothermal activity in the Rotorua area.

The trust will meet in Tauranga tomorrow for its annual two-day strategic conference, when geothermal energy will be among the many topics for discussion.

Geothermal development fitted nicely into Te Pumautanga o Te Arawa's blueprint for the future, Mr Te Whare said.

"Geothermal energy schemes are reliable and renewable."