General development manager Mark Trigg said the plant _ with an initial output of 82MW _ would be built on the Ngatamariki geothermal steam field, 17km north-east of Taupo. ``This is another important milestone in our domestic development pipeline and one of our big goals for 2011. It's great tosee another major project under way for us in New Zealand, so soon after Nga Awa Purua and Kawerau.'' The new development will lift Mighty River
Mighty River Power has recently secured $250 million of additional debt facilities to finance the project.
Resource consents were granted in May last year and work is scheduled to begin in July. The project is expected to be operating at full capacity by mid-2013. The new plant is owned by Mighty River Power
but, as a joint participant in the resource consent process, Tauhara North No2 Trust will receive revenue from the project and has an option to take an equity stake in the plant in the future. Mighty River Power chief executive Doug Heffernan said the trust, which is a joint venture partner in the Rotokawa and Nga Awa Purua plants on the Rotokawa field, had been important in bringing the project to fruition.
New capacity has seen a 400 per cent increase in the company's geothermal output since 2007 and it was a major contributor to the company's 22 per cent increase in earnings to $233.6 million for the six months to December 31.
``The Ngatamariki project, along with our international geothermal developments, will allow us to continue that growth trend by building on the core competency we have now developed in geothermal.''
