Maori Look At Geothermal Power Development
July 1st, 2009
Energy Minister Gerry Brownlee says he would welcome Maori investment in geothermal power generation in the North Island. He says the geothermal resource is far from fully utilised. This follows reports Maori interests are investigating a $2bn geothermal power generating company off the back of the $500m Central North Island Treelords settlement. Consultants employed to investigate business opportunities by the eight iwi involved in the deal could be responsible for generating 10 to 20% of NZ’s electricity within a decade. They based their assessment on untapped geothermal resources beneath the 170,000 hectares of forest land around Lake Taupo and in the Bay of Plenty which is part of the deal.
In a report published by the CNI group the consultants say annual cashflow returns of $170m and $200m a year from a CNI Maori power company were achievable. For Maori to enjoy the projected returns, they would need to take a strong CNI collective ownership role as opposed to being dominated by the existing geothermal power company generators such as Mighty River Power or Contact Energy in joint ventures.
Maori are already significant players in geothermal generation, with the biggest operator being the Taupo-based Tuaropaki Power Company which has a 75% share in the 113MW Mokai station. Mighty River has a 25% share. The Tauhara North No2 Trust has a 25% share in the $450M 32MW Nga Awa Purua geothermal power station under construction 14 km north of Taupo.
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