Peeking over the horizon, \u014ct\u0101huhu B Power Station once stood tall. Today we explore its story. The \u014ct\u0101huhu Power Station site had two plants. There was \u014ct\u0101huhu A and \u014ct\u0101huhu B. A third station named \u014ct\u0101huhu C was planned but never built. Contact Energy owned all the stations. In 2016, Contact sold the site.
\u014ct\u0101huhu A first used open cycle gas turbines. These Stal-Laval units started in 1968. Four 45 MW gas turbine units formed the plant. In 1978, two more units were added. These used Rolls-Royce Olympus gas turbines. By the late 1990s, \u014ct\u0101huhu A’s gas turbines stopped making electricity. They still provided reactive power to Transpower NZ. Transpower owned the national grid. The generators were retired in November 2013. They were then decommissioned.
\u014ct\u0101huhu B was a combined cycle plant. It started in January 2000. This plant burned natural gas. It used a Siemens V94.3A(2) gas turbine. This turbine had a single shaft configuration. The HRSG was unfired with triple pressure. It also had reheat. A hybrid wet-dry cooling tower cooled the steam cycle. This tower used sea water makeup.
Initially \u014ct\u0101huhu B generated 385 MW. Upgrades in 2005 increased capacity to 404 MW. These upgrades included the gas turbine compressor. The combined cycle power station stopped generating power in September 2015.
\u014ct\u0101huhu C was proposed as a 400 MW combined cycle plant. The Auckland Regional Council granted resource consents in 2001. However construction never began. In 2002, the Environmental Defence Society appealed the consents. They worried about the plant’s carbon dioxide emissions. The predicted annual emissions were 1.2 million tonnes. The EDS argued this would worsen climate change. They wanted carbon offsetting through new forests. The Environment Court agreed about climate change. It said the CO2 emissions would have adverse effects. Still the court did not require forest offsetting. It had concerns about its efficacy appropriateness and reasonableness.
In December 2002, Contact postponed \u014ct\u0101huhu C’s construction. They cited possible gas supply insecurities. This related to the expected depletion of the Maui gas field. By 2007 Contact prioritized renewable generation. CEO David Baldwin mentioned new geothermal capacity. He felt the \u014ct\u0101huhu C proposal should await the government’s carbon pricing system. Baldwin considered \u014ct\u0101huhu C the most efficient gas-fired proposal. He thought it could cut emissions by replacing less efficient coal generation. Contact sold the proposed site in 2016.
\u014ct\u0101huhu B Power Station played a vital role in Auckland’s energy supply. It adapted to changing energy needs. It faced environmental concerns. It ultimately closed due to market forces and renewable energy growth. Its story reflects New Zealand’s evolving energy landscape. The \u014ct\u0101huhu Power Station site now awaits its next chapter.