New Zealand's Contact Energy to add 51.4-MW geothermal power plant

New Zealand energy provider Contact Energy Ltd (NZE:CEN) on Monday said it will build a new 51.4-MW geothermal power station at Te Huka, near Taupo, as it reported results for the year through June.

The new NZD-300-million (USD 193m/EUR 188m) geothermal power station will be adjacent to the company’s existing Te Huka power plant. Te Huka Unit 3 is targeted to start operation in the final quarter of 2024.

Contact, which is generating electricity from hydropower, geothermal and thermal sources, meanwhile expects to complete the 168-MW Tauhara geothermal power station in the second half of 2023. Both stations will increase the company’s current renewable generation by 25% and boost New Zealand’s renewable power supply by more than 5% on average per year, it said.

The newly announced investment is in line with the energy firm’s Contact26 strategy, which is focused on leading New Zealand’s decarbonisation.

Chief executive Mike Fuge said that the global energy supply and security concerns, exacerbated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, support the acceleration of the Contact26 strategy and the company continues to progress a range of renewable energy projects across the country.

(NZD 1 = USD 0.643/EUR 0.626)

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