Contact Energy Picks Hamons Australia for Major Upgrade Project at Ohaaki Geothermal Plant

---

Researched by Industrial Info Resources Australia (Perth, Australia)--Contact Energy Limited (Wellington, New Zealand) issued a major services and supply contract to Hamon Australia Pty Limited (Sydney, Australia) for a cooling tower upgrade at the 68-megawatt (MW) Ohaaki Geothermal Power Station in north Taupo, New Zealand. The scope for the contract will involve design, engineering and manufacturing, including the installation of the cooling tower.

Hamon Australia also will be responsible for execution of all associated civil, structural, electrical, control and instrumentation work, including the supply of the internal components for the cooling tower. The Ohaaki station has a natural draft-type cooling tower that supports the whole plant, which consists of four steam turbines.

Hamon Park will refurbish and replace the internals of the cooling towers as necessary to prevent turbines from overheating and prolong the life of the facility. Contact Energy hopes that the completion of the rebuild program will increase the overall plant performance and reduce unplanned maintenance and emergency shutdowns.

The Ohaaki station was commissioned in 1989 and features a distinctive, 105-meter-high cooling tower, which is the only one of its kind in New Zealand. Contact Energy has been performing a major, three-month refurbishment on Unit 1 since January 2014. The refurbishment involves replacing the rotor and diaphragm of the 47-MW Mitsubishi Condensing Steam Turbine, including repairs to the balance-of-plant equipment. AG Industrial Limited (Taupo, New Zealand) is working on the project with a local subcontractor. The maintenance is expected to be complete by mid-April.

The Ohaaki station was built with two condensing intermediate-pressure steam turbines rated at 47 MW, and two condensing high-pressure English electric turbines, each with an 11-MW capacity. One of the two, Unit 4, was decommissioned in 2010, and the plant is running well below capacity due to insufficient geothermal pressure, with only three units in operation and on restricted duty.

View Plant Profile - 3010903
View Project Report - 300143289 300142332

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, three offices in North America and nine international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.