New Zealand's Mighty River: Kawerau Power Plant Running Above Budget
WELLINGTON -(Dow Jones)- State-owned Mighty River Power said Tuesday a new geothermal station was now fully operational and running 11% above its 90 megawatt budgeted capacity, helping alleviate New Zealand's power supply problems.
The NZ$300 million Kawerau power station in the central North Island had been connected to the national grid two months ahead of time and under budget, the company said in a statement.
New Zealand is facing power supply problems, particularly in the South Island, where hydro lakes that usually provide two third's of the nation's power are well below average levels due to lack of rainfall.
The Kawerau project is the largest geothermal development in New Zealand in more than 20 years.
The government has a target for the country to largely use renewable energy by 2025. Both hydro and wind power are subject to weather vagaries and geothermal is seen as a good baseload replacement for fossil fuel generation.
"Now fully operational, Kawerau will contribute significantly to security of supply over winter," Chief Executive Doug Heffernan said in a statement.
The company in April began pre-construction work on a nearby NZ$450 million, 132 megawatt, geothermal power that it is building in partnership with a local Maori tribe.
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