The U.S. Dept. of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy on June 22 announced a collaborative agreement with New Zealand's Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment to advance cost-effective geothermal technologies. "Geothermal represents a clean, nearly inexhaustible baseload source of electricity, making it a viable renewable energy source both in the U.S. and worldwide," said EERE Deputy Assistant Secretary Timothy Unruh. Currently, the U.S. is the world leader in installed geothermal capacity, with more than 3.8 GW online. New Zealand, with nearly 1.07 GW of installed capacity online, is also rich with natural geothermal resources, which supply more than 17% of the country's electricity. The agreement builds on renewable energy goals the two countries share as members of the International Partnership for Geothermal Technology.