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The opening of state-owned enterprise Mighty River Power's Kawerau geothermal power station is the beginning of the development of a billion-dollar geothermal business, the company says.
Construction of the $300 million 100-megawatt output plant began in January last year.
Chief executive Doug Heffernan said New Zealand used to be a world leader in geothermal energy development and Mighty River Power was trying to rebuild that leadership.
"In association with our Maori partners, we are leading the charge to develop New Zealand's world-class geothermal resources.
"What New Zealanders and tourists see in some areas as geothermal steam and water, we see in other areas as a valuable indigenous energy resource, capable of being harnessed to produce electricity to power households, communities, business and industry."
The Kawerau station should meet the electricity requirements of 100,000 households and provides electricity price certainty for the Norske Skog Tasman paper mill. It is built on land owned by Norske Skog Tasman and employs 11 permanent staff.
"While hydro generation is the core of the company's generation output, we are really excited about the potential of geothermal as an energy source, especially with its significant environmental advantages, being renewable, with very low greenhouse emissions and a relatively small physical footprint."
Mighty River Power is now active in four geothermal fields.
- NZPA
