No better time to join Contact EnergySponsored
At Contact, we’re on a journey to decarbonise Aotearoa. Over our 25-year plus history we’ve built a flexible and largely renewable portfolio of electricity generation assets. As a company we are an integral part of daily life in New Zealand and we’re acutely aware that our every action, good and bad, has a marked impact on the wellbeing of our communities — today and in the future. In recent years we’ve invested in building our renewable, flexible and reliable generation portfolio, which has helped us to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions from generation by 33% since 2018, but that’s just the start. We own and operate 11 power stations, are building two more, and setting wheels in motion to move into wind and solar. Between our Tauhara build, Te Huka expansion, future developments in wind and solar, and more we can’t tell you about just yet … there is a project here you want to be a part of.
Geothermal energy is an unsung hero in New Zealand; it’s where we lead the world with our technology and ingenuity. It plays a crucial role in our transition away from fossil fuels, which is what led us to break ground on our new Tauhara Power Station in Taupō – what we believe will be New Zealand’s best low-carbon renewable electricity opportunity.
Smack bang in Central North Island New Zealand, Tauhara is a 168MW geothermal steam turbine power station that will be our sixth in the area. Construction began in early 2021, is expected to be complete and operational in late 2023, and as it’s not reliant on the wind blowing or sun shining to generate power, Tauhara will operate 24/7, producing 1,420 GWh of electricity per year – around 3.5% of NZ’s electricity and enough for 195,000 households. Expected to displace 500,000 tons of carbon emissions per year as fossil fuel generation is shut down, Tauhara will achieve the equivalent of removing more than 220,000 petrol cars from New Zealand roads.
As Tauhara picks up steam, we’ve begun work on the expansion of Te Huka, building an additional unit at our existing Te Huka geothermal power station on Centennial Drive in Taupō. Like our other geothermal power stations, Te Huka Unit 3 will operate 24/7 and produce baseload electricity 95% of the time – higher than solar, wind or hydro. At the height of construction, this project is expected to generate 250 skilled construction jobs and spend over $140m in New Zealand, a significant portion of which will benefit the Taupō community. This additional unit will generate an extra 1% of renewable electricity (or around 430 GWh), enough to power 60,000 homes, and incorporates a novel design that should enable the project’s carbon emissions to be reinjected into the reservoir in the future.
With all this work underway and more coming up, we’re looking for engineers across multiple disciplines who are keen to join us in leaving a legacy. A team of 1000+ from all walks of life who love what we do, look out for each other, and learn from one another every day, we’re stoked to be guided by our tikanga: we touch lives to make life better. Our Taupō-based generation team enjoy the best of both worlds, fulfilled by epic work during the day, epic lifestyle the rest of the time – whether you’re into snowboarding, mountain biking, fishing, climbing, hiking, skiing, wakeboarding, or simply losing yourself in awe-inspiring scenery, it’s all here (and Taupō has a grand total of two sets of traffic lights, so you’ll get there fast.)
You can find out more about our opportunities on our Career page. Drop us a line - we’d love to kōrero.