GNS Science modeller John Burnell wants greenhouse growers to consider using low-temperature geothermal heat instead of natural gas for heat.
Geothermal heat is mainly used for electricity production in New Zealand and provides about 18 percent of total generation. It's also used in industrial process heat and for water heating. But John says as gas reserves decline and the importance of covered crops rises, there's great potential in using low-temperature geothermal heat as a substitute for gas.
More than 90 percent of tomatoes, capsicum and cucumbers are grown as covered crops in this country and we have about 310 hectares of greenhouses, mostly in the North Island.
Photo: Supplied
