The Wellington-headquartered company said it would be drilling the wells at Te Mihi, northwest of Taupo, with the geothermal steam from the wells used to generate additional electricity, enough to supply around 18,000 homes, at Contact’s nearby Poihipi and Wairakei geothermal power stations.

Contact chief executive Steve Barrett said this was a significant investment in geothermal energy development and part of Contact’s commitment to increasing output across the company’s generation portfolio to help meet New Zealand’s future energy needs.

Drilling is scheduled to start shortly, with each well taking about 30 days to drill to a depth of approximately 2km, in a program which could cost about NZ$8 million or so.