New Zealand:

Te Mihi Geothermal Power Station Handed Over (nzx.com)

The new Te Mihi power station under construction

Contact Energy Limited has confirmed that Te Mihi power station has been handed over from the construction contractor and is now under the operational and commercial control of Contact.

Te Mihi is expected to run baseload through the higher demand winter period until its first inspection later in 2014. The hand-over of Te Mihi concludes a six year investment in over $2 billion of renewable and flexible generation assets.

The Te Mihi power station will include two new steam turbine generators of 83 MW each, constructed near the 53-year-old Wairakei geothermal power station, northwest of Taupo.

The new power station will produce 166 MWe. Once the Te Mihi power station is completed, some of its generation will replace older parts of the existing Wairakei geothermal station, which will eventually be taken out of commission. The result will initially be an increase in output from the two power stations of about 114 MWe, enough to power over 100,000 average homes.