Contact Energy flicks the switch on Te Huka 3

Contact’s newest geothermal power station, Te Huka Unit 3.

Contact Energy’s new $300 million geothermal power station, Te Huka Unit 3, is supplying power to the national grid for the first time.

At full capacity, the station near Taupō will run at 51.4 megawatts (MW) - enough to power the equivalent of 60,000 homes.

During a three-week testing period with Transpower, a small amount of power, about 15MW, will initially be fed to the grid.

This will then be increased gradually to 51.4MW during testing.

Contact said this will be followed by formal generator compliance testing to Transpower’s system operator code requirements to confirm Te Huka 3 can provide electricity to the grid efficiently and safely.

Chief executive Mike Fuge said Te Huka 3 demonstrated Contact’s ability to invest, build, and deliver world class assets.

“This marks a huge moment for the team at Te Huka 3 who have for the past two years, worked tirelessly from the initial ground-breaking on site to building a fully operational renewable power station,” he said.

Once Transpower’s tests are complete, Contact will carry out further performance and reliability testing before the site is expected to become fully operational at the end of the year, including a 30-day reliability run to confirm that Te Huka 3 can run continuously and reliably at 51.4MW over a month.

Fuge said it was an exciting time for geothermal energy.

“It’s often been the unsung hero of power, but now it is really coming into its own as it plays a crucial role in New Zealand’s transition away from fossil fuels while helping to keep the lights on.”

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Enterprise’s (MBIE) latest report notes that geothermal generation reached a record high of 2143 gigawatt hours (GWh) generated between April and June in 2024, with a fifth (19%) of the country’s energy coming from geothermal sources during the autumn months.

Boosting the figure was the commissioning of Contact’s power station at Tauhara, which first started contributing to the national grid in May.

Te Huka 3, alongside Tauhara, is part of Contact’s $1.2 billion investment into expanding its geothermal renewable energy generation portfolio.

The station is the third of three geothermal power units on Contact’s Centennial Drive site in Taupō, based on the Tauhara steamfield.

Te Huka 3 is expected to displace around 190 tonnes a year of CO2 emissions – the equivalent of removing over 70,000 cars from New Zealand’s roads.

Contact said Te Huka 3 will be zero-carbon with its design reinjecting its emissions back into the reservoir, making it one of the first 100% carbon neutral geothermal power stations in the world.

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