Nga Awa Purua Geothermal Plant at Rotokawa

The highly successful work at Kawerau led to a major contract for the same team of partners to build the Nga Awa Purua geothermal plant at Rotokawa, again for Mighty River Power.

Work started in May 2008 on the $400 million project, which involves building a power station that includes the largest triple-flash turbine in the world, generating 132 Megawatts of power.

Team continuity has enabled innovative delivery solutions based on the knowledge gained at Kawerau.

Particular challenges at Rotokawa include the demanding and varied gradient of the site, extreme ground temperature and varying soil types and conditions, which have required innovative piling solutions. In addition, the use of cutting-edge pre-cast and post tensioning systems has accelerated the project timeframe.
It is anticipated that commissioning work for the power station will begin in January 2010, before feeding power into the Transpower grid.