Kawerau: Project Overview

In early August, Mighty River Power announced the commencement of a public consultation process prior to seeking resource consents to build a geothermal power station at Kawerau. This announcement followed extensive investigations and exploratory drilling which began on the field in early 2004.

We have since applied for resource consents for a power plant that would be built on industrial land owned by the region's largest electricity user - Norske Skog Tasman. The plant would have an estimated capacity of up to 70MW.

The Kawerau field currently supplies steam for industrial use and some small scale generation. Mighty River Power's proposed power station is the next phase in the development of the field.

The plant is expected to have many benefits for the local community. A 70MW power plant would provide enough electricity to meet more than 50 percent of the electricity demand in the Kawerau region. As well, it would help to meet the regional and national electricity demand growth, providing security of supply to local industry, decreasing transmission losses by generating electricity closer to the end users, and avoiding carbon dioxide emissions that would be generated by a thermal (i.e. gas) plant of similar size.

The project would also provide jobs in the Kawerau region. We estimate the project would employ approximately 100 people during construction and up to 10 people once the plant is established. Greater electricity security for businesses will also underpin jobs in the region. If consents are granted, construction could begin in early 2006 and be completed by late 2007.

Mighty River Power is partnering with three local organisations to progress the proposed development project - Ngati Tuwharetoa Geothermal Assets Ltd (NTGA), the Putauaki Trust and Norske Skog Tasman. Mighty River Power has worked extensively with these three organisations to agree to an approach for the proposed development which would ensure sustainable use of the Kawerau resource.

Mighty River Power has extensive experience managing geothermal resources, primarily through operations with Maori partners at Mokai and Rotokawa and we would transfer that knowledge to this project. In particular, this means we would extract geothermal fluids from deep reservoirs and reinject fluids back into deep reservoirs to ensure sustainability and minimise impacts on the field and surrounding environment.

We have been in discussion with various regional stakeholders about the potential project for several months. In early August, consultation was extended to the wider community, with four public information days held in Kawerau.