New power turbine planned for Auckland

Mighty River Power today said it would add to Auckland's power supply with a new 45MW generator in the suburb of Penrose.

The electricity company said it had started laying the foundations for a gas-fired turbine generator at its Southdown electricity generation plant.

Chief executive Doug Heffernan said the generator, due to arrive from Houston in the United States in about a month, would be capable of operating during periods of high demand or when hydro inflows are low.

It would lift the site's generation capacity from 125MW to 170MW.

Mr Heffernan said installation of the turbine, which would be big enough to supply 25,000 homes, was due to be completed in early December.

Waikato-based Mighty River Power is the third-largest energy retailer in New Zealand, operating through its Mercury Energy brand.

Mr Heffernan said the new turbine was part of the company's ongoing investment in new generation capacity to help to meet the country's growing energy requirements.

He said transmission capacity was now the key issue for the industry, and building new generation capacity closer to areas of high demand and managing demand were part of the solution.

However, upgrading the transmission system into and around Auckland was still a priority because of the scale and future growth rate of the region.

Last month, power was cut to much of Auckland's central business district after two 40-year-old shackles holding an earth wire failed.

Mr Heffernan said Mighty River Power was investigating a variety of other generation options.

Sources included geothermal, wind, thermal, gas and small hydro. The company has received resource consents to build a 70MW to 80MW geothermal power station at Kawerau, in the eastern Bay of Plenty.

- NZPA