Te Mihi Power Station

Te Mihi Power Station
Location of Te Mihi Power Station in New Zealand
Country New Zealand
Location Taupo, New Zealand
Coordinates 38°37′1″S 176°2′36″E / 38.61694°S 176.04333°E / -38.61694; 176.04333Coordinates: 38°37′1″S 176°2′36″E / 38.61694°S 176.04333°E / -38.61694; 176.04333
Status operational
Construction began March 2011
Commission date May 2014
Construction cost NZ$623 million
Owner(s) Contact Energy
Early morning looking towards Eastern boundary

The Te Mihi Power Station is a 166 MW geothermal power station owned and operated by Contact Energy, located north of Taupo in New Zealand.

The resource consent for the power station was "called in" by the Minister for the Environment Trevor Mallard under the terms of the Resource Management Act. The appointed Board of Enquiry granted the consent with a set of stipulated conditions.[1]

Te Mihi Power Station uses geothermal energy from the Wairakei geothermal field, which lies in the Taupo Volcanic Zone. It is part of a plan to gradually replace the Wairakei Power Station which will be phased out of production. With Te Mihi in operation, output from Wairakei is decreased by approximately 45 MW, resulting in a net increase of about 114 MW.[2]

The project was designed and constructed by a joint venture of McConnell Dowell, SNC-Lavalin and Parsons Brinckerhoff.[3] The plant includes two 83 MW steam turbines supplied by Toshiba. The project cost $623 million[2] and was officially opened in August 2014.[4]

Eastern boundary where steam is introduced to the plant

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Board of Inquiry for the Te Mihi Geothermal Power Station Proposal". Ministry for the Environment. 2008-09-13. Retrieved 2008-09-13.
  2. 1 2 "Contact kicks off Mihi project". 22 February 2011.
  3. ↑ "Te Mihi Geothermal Power Station". McConnell Dowell.
  4. ↑ Weir, James (14 August 2014). "Te Mihi geothermal station to boost Contact". Dominoin Post.
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