Taheke Geothermal Project in the Bay of Plenty has reached a "major milestone" after the Minister for the Environment accepted the project’s resource consent application under the Covid-19 Recovery Fast Track Consenting provisions.

The application will now be referred to an expert panel to consider. 

The Taheke geothermal project is a partnership between Eastland Generation and the land owners, Taheke 8C, and seeks to develop and operate a 35MW geothermal power station development located inland from the northern end of Lake Rotoiti.

An exploration well was successfully drilled in late 2021 and benefited from the Government’s Covid-19 recovery fund to support shovel ready projects.

Well testing was conducted in mid-2022 and the results and data enabled the project to move to the consenting phase and make the application for fast-track consenting to the Ministry for the Environment.

“The development of our geothermal taonga has been a very long time in our journey to realise our moemoea to utilise our geothermal taonga and to ensure kaitiaki for our future generations,” says Taheke 8C partner representative John Verco.

“We anticipate a positive outcome from the Ministry and acknowledge the project team for overseeing the development. Our owners will be pleased to know that real progress is being made towards the commissioning of a new power station.”

“Together with our partners and Taheke 8C, we are thrilled to be approved for the fast-track consenting process. It is another significant step in the development of this exciting project and we look forward to continuing to move forward with it,” says Eastland Generation chief executive officer Alice Pettigrew.

“The new plant is also a key part of Eastland’s ongoing development and growth strategy in renewable energy.

“The new plant is a key part of Eastland’s ongoing development and growth strategy. And, will also contribute towards Aotearoa commitment to achieve 100 percent renewable electricity by 2035.”

Planning for the first stage of Taheke is underway, and construction will commence in the next 12-24 months. 

“This is a very exciting time for our business as earlier this month we announced a capital raise of Eastland Generation, which will enable us to expedite development of our renewable energy project pipeline,” says Alice.