The $NZ60 million (about $A48 million) deal comes after Ormat built the nearby Wairakei binary plant for Contact in 2004. The Tauhara binary power plant will follow a similar design.
Contact said today that it had already drilled the wells necessary to power the station as part of its program to appraise the Tauhara geothermal steam field.
The total cost to deliver the project is expected to be about $NZ100 million, including work already undertaken.
The Tauhara binary plant, which will be commissioned during 2010, represents the first stage of Contact's development of the Tauhara field.
Contact is also planning to construct a 200-240MW geothermal power station at Tauhara and expects to file resource consents for that project in the first half of 2009.
Integrated energy player Contact, which is 51.36% owned by Origin Energy, plans to spend up to $NZ2 billion ($A1.6 million) on renewable energy projects over the next few years as part of helping meet the New Zealand Government's goal of 90% electricity coming from renewable sources by 2025.
