Contact Energy to spend $30M on geothermal appraisal wells

Contact Energy will spend $30 million on a series of appraisal wells on Taupo's Tauhara geothermal steamfield as it builds towards a final investment decision for a new power station in 2020.

The drilling programme - involving four appraisal wells - will commence in August and be completed in early 2020, it said. The bulk of the $30 million will be spent in New Zealand. 

“A potential new geothermal power station at the foot of Tauhara Maunga is New Zealand’s cheapest and most attractive option for renewable baseload electricity generation,” said chief executive Dennis Barnes. 

According to Barnes, geothermal energy is important in the transition to a low-carbon future as it provides baseload generation unlike weather dependent wind, solar or hydro generation.

Currently, Contact's geothermal electricity makes up 8 percent of New Zealand's electricity supply. The company employs around 150 people in Taupo directly and spends around $55 million annually in the region. 

“Geothermal energy can also provide a low carbon supply of direct heat for industrial processes and we are working with a number of interested parties on prospective developments," he added. 

The stock was unchanged at $7.34. 

(BusinessDesk)

Comments from our readers

No comments yet

Add your comment:

Your name:
Your email:	Not displayed to the public
Comment:
Comments to Sharechat go through an approval process. Comments which are defamatory, abusive or in some way deemed inappropriate will not be approved. It is allowable to use some form of non-de-plume for your name, however we recommend real email addresses are used. Comments from free email addresses such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc may not be approved.

Anti-spam verification:

Type the text you see in the image into the field below. You are asked to do this in order to verify that this enquiry is not being performed by an automated process.

Related News:

Transpower sees no risk to credit metrics from incentive change
NZ dollar rises, an outlier amid rising Gulf tensions
Craigmore spends $32M to expand Kerikeri kiwifruit crop by 'more than a third'
CentrePort eyes further hub expansion
South Port beats guidance, earnings in line with 2018 record
Plexure sees revenue growth from White Castle deal
22nd July 2019 Morning Report
NZ dollar treading water as markets focus on Iran
MARKET CLOSE: NZ shares extend gain as passive funds bolster prices; Tourism Holdings climbs
NZ dollar headed for 1.3% weekly gain on expectations of a Fed rate cut