The biggest thing ever transported on Northland roads, which will form a key part of Top Energy's new geothermal power station at Ngāwhā, made a show (and traffic) stopping sight as it rumbled up SH1 last week.
The 90-tonne, 20.5m heat exchanger made was transported on an 18-axle, 144-wheel trailer pulled by two trucks and pushed by a third.
Top Energy chief executive Russell Shaw said the Israeli-built heat exchanger, or pre-heater, would be used to extract energy from geothermal fluid drawn from deep underground. Heat from the fluid would turn pentane into a high-pressure gas, which would spin a series of turbines, which would turn a generator, making electricity.
The new power station is due to start producing electricity in August next year.
From the Global Geothermal News archives:
- Thursday, March 21, 2019 - New Zealand: 28 MW Expansion of Ngāwhā Geothermal Power Station to be Completed by October 2020
- Friday, March 15, 2019 - New Zealand: Proposed Innovation and Enterprise Park Would Expand Use of Geothermal Resource
- Monday, September 24, 2018 - New Zealand: Testing Begins at 28 MW Ngāwhā Geothermal Power Plant Extension Project
- Thursday, May 10, 2018 - New Zealand: Drilling for 28 MW Extension of Ngāwhā Geothermal Power Station to Resume
- Thursday, May 16, 2013 - New Zealand: Ngāwhā's Geothermal Power Plant Expansion Promises Economic Boost