Installed geothermal energy capacity in New Zealand
New Zealand: Installed geothermal energy capacity was 1,283 megawatts in 2025. ▲ Rising
Installed geothermal energy capacity in New Zealand, 2000–2025
Source: IRENA (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in megawatts.
Analysis
New Zealand recorded 1,283 megawatts for installed geothermal energy capacity in 2025. That is the highest value across all 26 years on record.
The figure is up 29.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, installed geothermal energy capacity in New Zealand peaked at 1,283 megawatts in 2024 and was at its lowest, 372 megawatts, in 2002.
New Zealand ranks 5th of 32 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 26 years of available data.
Installed geothermal energy capacity in New Zealand, year by year
| Year | megawatts | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 418 megawatts | — |
| 2001 | 417 megawatts | -0.2% |
| 2002 | 372 megawatts | -10.8% |
| 2003 | 382 megawatts | +2.7% |
| 2004 | 382 megawatts | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 437 megawatts | +14.4% |
| 2006 | 437 megawatts | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 456 megawatts | +4.3% |
| 2008 | 578 megawatts | +26.8% |
| 2009 | 617 megawatts | +6.7% |
| 2010 | 749 megawatts | +21.4% |
| 2011 | 749 megawatts | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 775 megawatts | +3.5% |
| 2013 | 848 megawatts | +9.4% |
| 2014 | 966 megawatts | +13.9% |
| 2015 | 990 megawatts | +2.5% |
| 2016 | 985 megawatts | -0.5% |
| 2017 | 985 megawatts | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 1,009 megawatts | +2.4% |
| 2019 | 1,009 megawatts | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 1,062 megawatts | +5.3% |
| 2021 | 1,060 megawatts | -0.2% |
| 2022 | 1,060 megawatts | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 1,060 megawatts | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 1,283 megawatts | +21.0% |
| 2025 | 1,283 megawatts | +0.0% |
New Zealand compared with similar countries
- New Zealand's 1,283 megawatts is above the median for high income countries, which is 79.47 megawatts, 16.1× the median. (16 countries reporting)
- New Zealand's 1,283 megawatts is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 259.96 megawatts, 4.9× the median. (8 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Installed geothermal energy capacity in New Zealand changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | +26.8% | 456 megawatts | 578 megawatts |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 449.6 megawatts | 372 megawatts | 617 megawatts | 10 |
| 2010s | 906.5 megawatts | 749 megawatts | 1,009 megawatts | 10 |
| 2020s | 1,135 megawatts | 1,060 megawatts | 1,283 megawatts | 6 |
Countries ranked near New Zealand
More reference data data for New Zealand
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.4532 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 9.92 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 10.93 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0459 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 10.93 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.52 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 1.53 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 42.17 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 47.53 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.2499 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is installed geothermal energy capacity in New Zealand?
- Installed geothermal energy capacity in New Zealand was 1,283 megawatts in 2025, according to IRENA (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest installed geothermal energy capacity recorded in New Zealand?
- The highest recorded value was 1,283 megawatts in 2024.
- What is the lowest installed geothermal energy capacity recorded in New Zealand?
- The lowest recorded value was 372 megawatts in 2002.
- How does New Zealand rank for installed geothermal energy capacity?
- New Zealand ranks 5th out of 32 countries with data for 2025.
- Is installed geothermal energy capacity rising or falling in New Zealand?
- Over the last ten years it is up 29.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this New Zealand data come from?
- The figures come from IRENA (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Installed geothermal energy capacity. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 26 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Total geothermal (on- and off-grid) electricity installed capacity, measured in megawatts.