Contact Energy drilling $30m of new Taupō geothermal wells

Te Mihi, an extising Contact Energy geothermal power station in Wairakei. Photo / File

Contact Energy is drilling four new wells on the Tauhara geothermal field to finalise plans for a new power station in 2020.

Chief executive Dennis Barnes said in a press release the field was a "high quality and globally significant resource".

"A potential new geothermal power station at the foot of Tauhara Maunga is New Zealand's cheapest and most attractive option for renewable baseload electricity generation," he said.

"Geothermal energy can also provide a low carbon supply of direct heat for industrial
processes and we are working with a number of interested parties on prospective
developments."

The drilling programme will start in August and be completed in early 2020.

Contact is one of New Zealand's largest energy retailers and generators.

It employs around 150 people in Taupō directly.

Contact Energy chief executive Dennis Barnes. Photo / File

Its geothermal electricity makes up 8 per cent of New Zealand's electricity supply.

The Te Mihi build contributed $60m to the region and at the peak of construction, more than 600 people were involved.

Contact spends about $55m annually in Taupō.