New Zealand:

Mighty River Power to Explore for Geothermal Near Rotorua (The Daily Post)

Mighty River Power has applied for resource consent to investigate and develop the use of geothermal power generation on the Taheke field, near Okere Falls.

Okere Falls is north-east of Lake Rotorua
on the north island

Rotorua District Council resource consents team leader Portia McKenzie said they had just received the resource consent application from Mighty River Power for the temporary use of a drilling rig and temporary accommodation for up to 50 staff on a site off State Highway 33.

Mrs McKenzie said the company wanted to put up a drilling rig and put in portable cabins for staff to stay there while working on the project, which was expected to take up to six weeks.

The application said the purpose of the proposed work was to explore, test and monitor the Taheke geothermal system to determine the lateral extent, size and development potential of the resource.

The Taheke resource was thought to be of medium temperature, spanning an area potentially comparable to the Rotokawa field, where the company completed its most recent development, Nga Awa Purua geothermal plant.

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