Geothermal power plant in Bay of Plenty, New Zealand. Approximate location -38.0631, 176.7272.
GeothermalBay of PlentyNew Zealand
Kawerau is a 100 MW geothermal power station in Bay of Plenty, New Zealand. It is operated by Mercury Energy. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 188k homes (estimated). It ranks #22 of 50 New Zealand power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 2008, it is around 18 years old — relatively modern. As a non-combustion source, it has no direct CO₂ emissions from generation. In context, geothermal supplies about 21.8% of New Zealand's electricity; the national grid averages 93 gCO₂/kWh (88.5% low-carbon) (2025).
Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1000327.
Known, modelled and calculated values are kept separate. Missing fields are shown as unavailable.
The capacity and/or fuel fields on this page include a source-backed provenance label from GEM, an official registry, Wikidata, OSM, or a cross-source match.
capacity: Wikidata P2109 nameplate capacity; fuel: WRI source-record fuel
At 100 MW, Kawerau is below the median geothermal plant in New Zealand (113 MW). Geothermal plants tap underground heat to raise steam for a turbine; they provide steady, low-carbon baseload but are limited to geologically active regions.
Capacity comparison computed from the WRI Global Power Plant Database; fuel-type context is general engineering background.
Installed capacity (MW), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).
Operated by Mercury Energy. All plants by this company →
This geothermal plant taps underground heat to raise steam that drives a turbine. It sits in a temperate oceanic climate (Köppen Cfb) — Southern Hemisphere, latitude 38.1°S — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.
Monthly mean temperature
Heating degree-days here run 32% below the median power plant in this dataset — a proxy for how much extra energy heated equipment must replace through its surfaces in winter.
Climate heat-demand index: 37/100 — this site sits in the mid third of the power plants we cover by heating degree-days.
Climate normals: WorldClim 2.1 (1970–2000 monthly normals, 10 arc-min, CC BY 4.0); zone: Köppen-Geiger world climate classification (Kottek et al. 2006, 0.5° grid). Degree-days & heat-demand index computed by PowerAtlas — a modelled heat-demand proxy, not a measured site figure.
For a plant’s outdoor hardware — heat-recovery steam generators (HRSG), expansion joints, valves, flanges and their insulation — the local climate sets how fast unprotected steel and coatings degrade. This site sits in a corrosive environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C4 — High), with humidity / wetness the leading environmental stress.
Higher environmental severity is exactly where protective removable insulation pays back most: a sheltered micro-climate slows corrosion, UV and thermal-cycling damage and extends outdoor hardware service life. This is an indicative site-climate context — not a condition assessment of any specific plant or operator.
Indicative estimate via the ISO 9223:2012 informative method (atmospheric corrosivity from temperature, time-of-wetness and airborne salinity), using WorldClim climate normals, the Köppen-Geiger class and coast distance. Indicative, not a measured corrosion rate.
The #5 largest geothermal power plant of 7 in New Zealand by capacity.
New Zealand has 7 geothermal power plants in this dataset, together about 670 MW of capacity.
Coordinates -38.0631, 176.7272 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.
Kawerau is a 100 MW source-record geothermal power plant in Bay of Plenty, New Zealand, commissioned in 2008.
Its output is enough to supply roughly 187,714 homes (estimated).
Kawerau is operated by Mercury Energy.
