Six years after its initial application Contact Energy has gained new resource consents for its existing geothermal plants near Taupo.
It is also optimistic that consents for the plants it is planning will be granted within months.
The company, New Zealand's largest listed electricity generator and retailer, welcomed
an Environment Court decision confirming resource consents for the operation of its Wairakei and Poihipi geothermal power stations at Taupo.
It applied for renewal of the consents in 2001. They were granted in 2004, but the decision was appealed against to the Environment Court.
Contact chief executive David Baldwin said the resolution of the Wairakei consents gave the company increased confidence in its $1 billion plan to develop two new geothermal power stations near Taupo - a 200 megawatt plant at Tauhara and a 217Mw plant at Te Mihi.
These and the company's plans to spend $1 billion on two wind farms with a combined 500Mw capacity over the next five years, depended on gaining consents quickly.
The company hopes that will be done through a "call in" process that can be used to provide a shorter and more cost-effective consent process.
The spokesman said Contact was preparing material for resource consent applications for the new plants. "Whether a project is called in or not depends on the Energy Minister, but it's Contact's view that we will be advocating that these projects are called in."
The first application would be for the Te Mihi power station.
The project was likely to be called in if Energy Minister David Parker deemed it of national significance.
The new consents gained by Contact enable its geothermal operations to continue until 2026 and the production of another 20Mw a year.
Baldwin said the Environment Court's decision cleared the way for Contact to work with the Taupo community to address the effects of its current and future operations, including the proposed new power stations.
