The Te Mihi power station

Introduction

As New Zealand’s demand for energy continues to grow, and concern about climate change increases, new sources of renewable energy are needed.

Contact Energy has plans to invest in two new geothermal power stations in the Taupo region; producing enough renewable energy to power up to 350,000 homes.

Geothermal energy is literally using the heat from deep inside the earth to generate electricity – its renewable, capable of generating large amounts of electricity and, unlike wind and hydro generation, doesn’t depend on the weather. The produced electricity is always available, providing a vital role in a secure energy supply.

Contact is one of New Zealand’s leading generators of geothermal electricity, generating around five per cent of New Zealand’s total energy from its geothermal operations in the Taupo region.  See our brochure (1.21MB)  on geothermal energy and Contact’s existing geothermal power stations.

Contact’s plans for two new geothermal power stations are progressing rapidly. The plans involve replacing the 50 year old Wairakei Power Station with a new power station at Te Mihi, which will be powered with steam from the Wairakei steamfield.

The Te Mihi power station will produce up to 220 megawatts of electricity, and will gradually replace the Wairakei Power Station which will be phased out of production.

In September 2009, Contact received final resource consent approval to construct this project. A number of  Technical Reports  made up the company’s resource consent application, and all of these reports are available on this site.

If you have any questions on the Te Mihi project please contact us.

Want to know about job opportunities on this project? Please email recruitmentcentre@contact-energy.co.nz or phone  Richard on +64 4 462 1311. Or you can register your interest and submit your CV here.