The Tauhara Power Station is a
geothermal power
Geothermal power is electrical power generated from geothermal energy. Technologies in use include dry steam power stations, flash steam power stations and binary cycle power stations. Geothermal electricity generation is currently used in 2 ...
station north of
Taupō
Taupō (), sometimes written Taupo, is a town on the north-eastern shore of Lake Taupō, New Zealand's largest lake, in the central North Island. It is the largest urban area of the Taupō District, and the second-largest urban area in the Wai ...
in
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
. Previously known as Tauhara 2, the project is being developed by
Contact Energy
Contact Energy Limited is a New Zealand electricity generation, electricity generator, a wholesaler of natural gas, and a retailer of electricity retailing, electricity, natural gas, broadband and Liquefied petroleum gas, LPG.
It is the second- ...
and Tauhara Moana Trust and is expected to be operational in the third quarter of 2024.
Background
Stage 1 of the wider Tauhara project is operational as the
Te Huka Power Station
The Te Huka Geothermal Power Station, also known as Tauhara One, is a 23 MW binary cycle geothermal power station situated near Taupo, New Zealand. The power station is operated by Contact Energy.
In July 2008, Contact Energy announced th ...
. This is a 23 MW binary plant supplied with geothermal steam from the Tauhara field.
Tauhara Stage 2
The application for
resource consent
A resource consent is the authorisation given to certain activities or uses of natural and physical resources required under the New Zealand Resource Management Act (the "RMA"). Some activities may either be specifically authorised by the RMA or ...
s for a 250 MW power station was submitted in February 2010. The Minister for the Environment determined that this project was one of national significance, and referred it to an independent Board of Inquiry. The resource consents were granted in December 2010. It was the first infrastructure project to be processed under the new Board of Inquiry process administered by the
Environmental Protection Authority. In August 2019 Contact Energy began drilling four wells to further characterize the geothermal reservoir on the field and inform a final decision on whether to build a new power plant.
The project is expected to cost around $580 million.
In February 2021 Contact Energy announced that it planned to issue $400 million of new shares to raise capital to build the plant.
Construction of the station began in March 2021
In February 2022 Contact announced that the completion date would be delayed to mid-2023, but that the output of the station would increase to 168 MW.
In November 2023, the target for the station to be operational was pushed to the third quarter of 2024, with an output of 152 MW, rising to 174 MW later.
See also
*
Geothermal power in New Zealand
Geothermal power in New Zealand is a small but significant part of the energy generation capacity of the country, providing approximately 17% of the country's electricity
*
List of power stations in New Zealand
This is a list of power stations in New Zealand.
The list is not exhaustive – only power stations over 0.5 MW and significant power stations below 0.5 MW are listed.
Power plants in New Zealand have different generating roles ...
References
External links
Contact Energy- Tauhara Power Station
{{Electricity generation in Waikato
Geothermal power stations in New Zealand
Taupō
Buildings and structures in the Taupō District