POWER FROM WAIRAKEI

Press, Volume C, Issue 29514, 16 May 1961, Page 17

POWER FROM WAIRAKEI

Address Bv Dr. A. J. Eliis

The power - producing hydro-thermal areas at Wairakei w-ould be economic for a number of years yet, said Dr. A. J. Ellis, a principal scientific officer of the Dominion Laboratory, last evening. Dr. Ellis was addressing the Canterbury branch of the New Zealand Institute of Chemistry on the New Zealand hydro-thermal areas. “The whole system is very constant, which is pretty remarkable for a natural system. The water has been found to be more than 75 years old, so we probably will not run out of it,” he said. Dr. Ellis also explained why the heat sources had been breaking through to the surface recently. He said that the water supply under the surface had been overdrawn, which caused that water to drop slightly in temperature. This drop in temperature had caused the formation of steam w’hich found its way to the surface. “We are thinking of pumping water from the river to build up the level,” he said. The water originated as surface water, said Dr. Ellis. It filtered down, became heated, and came to the surface after some years.