GEOTHERMAL POWER

Press, Volume XCI, Issue 27639, 21 April 1955, Page 11

GEOTHERMAL POWER

BUILDING OF FIRST UNIT

USE OF PLANT FROM CHRISTCHURCH ■"The Press” Special Service

AUCKLAND, April 20. Workmen have started on the foundations of a building at Wairakei to house, the first electric power unit in New Zealand to be powered by geothermal steam. A small plant which once produced power to drive the Christchurch trams will be installed within a few weeks by Ministry of Works engineers. Planned to produce power for the nearby workshops and other needs, the old generator has been arriving in parts at Wairakei for the last six months. Although the plant had a capacity of between 500 and 600 kilowatts in its heyday, it is expected that it will only produce somewhere between 200 and 300 kilowatts in its novel setting, more than enough for the immediate power requirements for Wairakei.

The plant is being installed on a level stretch of ground near the junction of the Rotorua-Taupo and Putaruru highways, where two roaring bores have attracted curious sightseers since they were opened about 18 months ago. One of these wells, which has been drilled to a depth of 1500 feet, will be harnessed to the generator turbines. The steam will be dried through a separator before entering the turbine. The exhaust will discharge directly into the atmosphere.

While diesels will still be used to drive the drilling rigs, the old tramways plant will be more than a token start to geothermal power. It will probably supersede the other diesel plants which have been used for power needs at Wairakei since drilling began in earnest.