Contact edges closer towards replacing Wairakei A and B stations

Contact Energy is taking steps to replace its Wairakei A and B geothermal stations. Photo / File

Contact Energy said it had taken steps to replace its 1950s-built Wairākei A and B geothermal power stations, near Taupō, with a new station at Te Mihi.

The project would form an important part of Contact’s renewable energy strategy, the company said.

Last December, Contact received resource consent to continue operations at the Wairākei geothermal field for the next 35 years.

A total of up to $114 million of development costs had been approved to advance the project towards a final investment decision, which is expected in early 2024.

Funding had been allocated for consenting and mitigation costs, and front-end engineering design to support the competitive tender process.

A significant proportion of the costs relate to new drilling and well pad preparation which will de-risk the development schedule and assist in maturing the project design, the company said.

Contact will be working with MB Century to start drilling a series of wells on the Wairākei geothermal field from September onwards.

Chief development officer Jacqui Nelson said the programme would build on Contact’s recent development experience with $1.2 billion of geothermal projects in construction in the Taupō region.

The proposed station is projected to generate 1.4 terawatt hours (TWh)) per annum of baseload renewable electricity, a net increase of 0.4TWh per annum, after the existing Wairākei power station is decommissioned and the new station comes online in the second half of 2026.

Nelson said it was a key project for Contact.

Billions of dollars are already being invested in renewable energy projects, and Contact Energy chief executive Mike Fuge told the Herald in June that was just the beginning.

The company’s Tauhara plant (174 megawatts), near Taupō, is nearly finished.

Contact’s Te Huka 3, also near Taupō, is due for completion next year.

Jamie Gray is an Auckland-based journalist, covering the financial markets and the primary sector. He joined the Herald in 2011.