LAUSR

Abstract The InfraCore nursery in Rotorua is a unique case of greenhouse heated with geothermal energy. The nursery only runs at full capacity during the colder six months of the year, when the geothermal heating system is operational. However, a large expansion project to grow gourmet vegetables and greens would require heating year-round. The nursery and greenhouses infrastructure and its direct heat use technology are characterised in detail. Wellbore static and flowing conditions were determined using PTS and calorimeter output tests and wellbore simulation. The existing production well has enough capacity to provide thermal energy for both developments, providing that the well is kept clean of calcite scaling.