Construction of the Kawerau geothermal power station is ramping up with the arrival onsite of the steam turbine, generator and condenser between 23-27 October.
Mighty River Power Construction Project Manager Paul Ware said these major plant items will convert geothermal steam to electricity and have been manufactured by Fuji Electric Systems in Japan specifically for the $300 million, 90MW geothermal power station.
The generator and turbine weigh a combined 325 tonnes – the equivalent of more than 200 cars and will be lifted into place on a lifting frame specifically constructed onsite for this purpose.
In addition to these major items of equipment, a further 600 tonnes of support machinery and electrical equipment will also arrive with the shipment.
Some of the equipment has been manufactured in New Zealand, with the major specialised plant being sourced from more than nine countries. This will be delivered in 30 shipments, mainly through the Port of Tauranga.
“We’re making good progress on the construction and the arrival of this equipment marks the next phase of the development,” Mr Ware said.
“The generator and turbine will be installed approximately 10 metres above ground level and needs a very substantial structure to support it and to resist any potential seismic activity within the area,” he said.
Mr Ware said the equipment will be transported at night and will be off the road by 6:00am. The route has been agreed with Transit NZ and will generally follow State Highways 2 and 34. The generator and condenser will be escorted by the local power and telephone companies who will need to lift wires because of the height of the equipment.
Up until now, the site team had focussed on preparing the power station building and the equipment foundations for the arrival of this equipment. However the cooling tower structure has also now arrived on site from the USA in kitset form and will be assembled over the next few months.
Elsewhere, work continues on the installation of the pipelines that connect the geothermal steam supply wells to the power station, and return the used fluid to the ground via re-injection wells.
Currently there are about 140 people working on the construction site. Approximately ninety of these are locals from the Eastern Bay of Plenty area. Mr Ware said up to 180 people will be employed on site when construction peaks from November to December.
Once complete, the 90MW Kawerau geothermal power station will significantly increase generation capacity in the Eastern Bay of Plenty, meeting approximately one-third of residential and industrial demand in the region. It will provide electricity cost certainty to important local industry such as the Norske Skog Tasman plant and assist in reducing New Zealand’s need for base load thermal power stations.
Mighty River Power’s focus on geothermal development highlights the important role of renewable resources for New Zealand’s sustainable energy future. Kawerau is the first stage in the company’s plans to develop around 400MW of geothermal energy in the next five to ten years – enough power for approximately 400,000 homes.
The Kawerau geothermal power station is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2008.