The 130-tonne vaporiser, a key part of the geothermal power plant under construction at Ngāwhā, arrives on site just after daybreak. Photo / Tom Zink
The 130-tonne vaporiser, a key part of the geothermal power plant under construction at Ngāwhā, arrives on site just after daybreak. Photo / Tom Zink
The largest single part of a geothermal power plant being built near Kaikohe has arrived on site after a six-hour trip from Northport near Whangārei.
The 130-tonne, 21.5-metre-long vaporiser was transported on a 144-wheel trailer pulled and pushed by three heavy-haulage trucks, arriving just before dawn on January 15.
Thevaporiser dwarfs even the three heat-exchangers, each of which weighed 90 tonnes, which have been transported to the power station site over the past month. It also sets a new record for the heaviest object transported on Northland roads in recent times.
The Top Energy plant is expected to produce 32MW of power once fully operational later this year. The company's existing Ngāwhā geothermal power station produces 25MW.
A Top Energy spokeswoman said the three heat exchangers would be used to transfer heat from the geothermal fluid to liquid pentane. The hot geothermal fluid is extracted from wells drilled into New Zealand's second biggest geothermal field.
The pre-heated pentane would then enter the vaporiser where it would turn into a high-pressure gas used to drive the turbines and generate electricity.
About 150 people are on site assembling the power station, building a pipeline for geothermal fluid, and erecting power transmission equipment.
