Te Mihi, an extising Contact Energy geothermal power station in Wairakei. Photo / File
Contact Energy is drilling four new wells on the Tauhara geothermal field to finalise plans for a new power station in 2020.
Chief executive Dennis Barnes said in a press release the field was a "high quality and globally significant resource".
"A potential new geothermal power station at the foot
of Tauhara Maunga is New Zealand's cheapest and most attractive option for renewable baseload electricity generation," he said.
"Geothermal energy can also provide a low carbon supply of direct heat for industrial
processes and we are working with a number of interested parties on prospective
developments."
