Eastland Group now plans to invest a further $97m over the next five years to develop Eastland Generation’s assets, including the $100m 15 MW net Te Ahi O Maui project, which already stands to increase the size of Eastland Group by a quarter.
All resource consent appeals surrounding the project have now been resolved and consents are in place to build a geothermal plant 2.3km east of Kawerau.
After renegotiating with former project partner, Hawaii-based Innovations Development Group (IDG), EGL has now increased its stake in the project by an additional 14 percent.
Eastland Group chief executive Matt Todd said a provisional timeline for construction was in place but it would be contingent on getting the necessary approvals, which would see a three-year construction program put in place. The company had now started the detailed processes of procurement, putting contracts in place and obtaining financing for the project for the board to consider within the next 12 months.
When complete, the 15 MW net plant would be capable of generating an equivalent amount of electricity to meet 50 percent of demand from the 25,000 consumers in the Gisborne/Wairoa region.
“Eastland Group does not retail electricity but we are looking at a number of ways of selling the output from Te Ahi O Maui. This could be on a standard PPA, a CFD, a FPVV, ASX hedge or directly into the wholesale market.”
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