Contact, the country’s second-largest energy retailer, makes more than 80 percent of its electricity at dams on the South Island and at its geothermal fields around Taupo. It is currently drilling at the Tauhara field as part of a plan to expand generation there so it can reduce its use of gas-fired generation, or to provide firms with direct steam field heat for processing.
James Kilty, the firm’s chief generation and development officer says the drilling at Tauhara is going well and all indications are that the resource will probably be better than the company expected a decade ago when it sought consents for generation development there.
“We’re confident that the resource will provide a significant uplift in megawatts for us,” he said.
The appraisal drilling, due to wrap up early next year, will “position us really well for the next few years of fun.”