World Power Plants

Kawerau100 MW Geothermal

GeothermalRenewable

Kawerau is a 100 MW geothermal power plant in New Zealand, operated by Mercury Energy since 2008. Ranked #5 of 7 geothermal plants in New Zealand. Its 100 MW represents 15.02% of New Zealand's total geothermal capacity of 666 MW. The largest geothermal plant in New Zealand is Nga Awa Purua at 138 MW, making Kawerau 0.72 times larger. Within 50 km, the nearest plant is Matahina (60 MW, Hydro). The facility is located in the Bay of Plenty region, approximately 30 km southeast of Tauranga.

Capacity
100 MW
Commissioning Year
2008

18 years old

Owner
Mercury Energy
Location
-38.0631°, 176.7272°

New Zealand, Oceania

Context & rankings
  • 18. largest of 43 plants in New Zealand
  • #10,042 worldwide by installed capacity
  • #48 of 215 Geothermal plants worldwide
  • 1.5% of the installed capacity of New Zealand
Age & fleet comparison

18 years in operation

Geothermal fleet average: 26.9 years

Operator portfolio

Mercury Energy operates 12 plants totalling 1,434 MW

Regional density

15 plants within 100 km, 1,640 MW combined

Nearest plant: Matahina (9.6 km)

Data provenance

Location

Coordinates:: -38.063100, 176.727200
Open in Google Maps
Carbon Footprint

Zero Direct Emissions

Kawerau is a geothermal power plant producing approximately 701 GWh of clean electricity per year with zero direct CO₂ emissions during operation.

Lifecycle emissions: ~38 g CO₂/kWh (manufacturing, transport, decommissioning)

Technical Details

Primary Fuel Type
Geothermal
Energy Source
Renewable
Country
New Zealand
Continent
Oceania
Data Source
Global Power Plant Database

New ZealandEnergy Profile

43
Total Plants
6.7 GW
Total Capacity
HydroGeothermalGasCoal
Top Fuels

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