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Geothermal secures power capacity for Mighty River Power

Geothermal secures power capacity for Mighty River Power Aerial view of Ngatamariki plant, New Zealand in March 2013 (source: Mighty River Power)
Alexander Richter 27 Oct 2013

Mighty River Power's new Ngatamariki geothermal power plant has helped to compensate for a drop in power generation from the company's hydro plants due to lack of water in the recent quarter of this year.

A recent dry period in New Zealand means an increasing lack of water in the Waikato River that feeds the hydro power plants of New Zealand’s Mighty River Power. The power generation of the company from its hydro plants has fallen by around 30 percent in the three months to the end of September this year.

New capacity added with is Ngatamariki geothermal power station has helped to offset the decrease in power generation from hydro plants. In the September quarter of this year with the Ngatamariki plant accounting for almost half of power generated by Mighty River Power that quarter.

But recent rainfalls see the Lake Taupo water storage back at average, so things should get back to normal.

The interesting fact remains though that it shows the importance that geothermal energy plays in the power generation portfolio of Mighty River Power, which allows to compensate for changes in the energy supply, in this case from its hydro resources.

In the quarter Mighty River Power achieved a wholesale electricity price for its generation at NZ64.37 per MWh, or around US$0.0533 per kWh, according to company reports this represents a better price achieved than that by competitors in the market in New Zealand.

The New Zealand geothermal energy market and its resources is topic of the recently published Think GEOENERGY Magazine.

 

Source: TV NZ