BBC News
By David Silverberg
image captionDrilling for hot rocks - a plentiful energy source
Drilling holes into an extinct volcano might sound like an unusual start to an energy project.
But that's what J Michael Palin, a senior lecturer at the University of Otago in New Zealand, is planning to do.
His project involves drilling two boreholes to a depth of 500m (1,600ft) and monitoring the rock to see if it is suitable to provide geothermal energy.
"It has been known for some time that the Dunedin region has surface heat flow about 30% higher than expected based on previous measurements," says Dr Palin.