Mighty River Power and the Putauaki Trust today announced the start of exploratory drilling into geothermal fields on Trust land near Kawerau.
The exploration programme, assessing the field’s potential for generation, began today at the site of the first well with a blessing by trust elders.
The Trustees said today that this was a very special time for them and for all the beneficiaries of the Putauaki Trust.
“This is the true beginning to a power generation project which we believe will benefit the Trust and also the wider community in the Kawerau area,” say the trustees.
“We acknowledge, with gratitude, the help and support by so many of our neighbours. Their willing co-operation in the preliminary testing phase, allowing technicians onto their properties, enabled a good picture of the geothermal resource beneath the land to be established. This resulted in the start of test drilling marked by today’s blessing.”
Mighty River Power General Manager External Affairs, Neil Williams, says the project supports the Company’s strategy to diversify its generation portfolio and focus on renewable resources.
“Mighty River Power is looking to expand its generation portfolio, and the Putauaki project is part of this strategy. Geothermal resources are abundant in New Zealand and Mighty River Power sees the opportunity for economical, sustainable development of fields such as Kawerau. Developing this natural resource also supports our commitment to utilise renewable energy sources,” says Mr Williams.
Mighty River Power completed scientific surveys of the area earlier this year with the results showing good indications of a significant geothermal resource.
The next step is to confirm what the science predicts with an exploratory drilling programme.
Mighty River Power plans to drill and then test four wells between now and the middle of 2004. Each will take about five weeks to complete, reaching depths of 1800 metres. Tests at completion of the drilling will be used to assess the reservoir capacity and rock permeability required to produce steam.
If well drilling and testing are successful, Mighty River Power will consider lodging resource consent applications in October 2004 for development of a full geothermal power project.