Huntly Power Station facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Huntly Power Station |
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The station in 2005, with the four steam turbine units
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| Country | New Zealand |
| Location | Huntly, Waikato |
| Coordinates | 37°32′38″S 175°9′10″E / 37.54389°S 175.15278°E |
| Status | Operational |
| Commission date | 1982 |
| Owner(s) | Genesis Energy Limited |
The Huntly Power Station is the biggest thermal power station in New Zealand. It is found in the town of Huntly in the Waikato region. This power station makes electricity by burning fuel to create heat. It is run by Genesis Energy Limited.
The station has five main parts that make electricity. Three of these use steam turbines and can burn either coal or gas. There is also a smaller gas plant and a larger combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) plant. Huntly Power Station is very important for keeping the lights on in places like Auckland. It helps make sure there is enough power and keeps the electricity system stable.
Contents
How Huntly Power Station Works
Making Electricity
The power station has four original units that started working between 1973 and 1985. Each of these units can burn either coal or gas. They each make 250 megawatts (MW) of electricity. This means they could make 1000 MW in total.
The chimneys at Huntly are very tall, about 150 metres high. Each chimney has two pipes inside. In 2004, the station added a new gas turbine plant. This plant could make an extra 50 MW of power.
Then, in 2007, a special combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) plant was added. This plant makes 403 MW of power. It uses gas to spin a turbine, and then uses the leftover heat to make steam for another turbine. This made the station's total power-making ability much larger.
In 2007, Huntly was running at 85% of its full power. This meant it was providing a lot of the basic electricity needed for the northern North Island. At that time, it mostly used gas. However, in 2008, there was a dry winter, which meant less hydro power was available. So, the station used more coal to make electricity.
Over time, some of the older units were put into storage or stopped working. One 250 MW unit was put into long-term storage in 2012. Another 250 MW unit that used coal was permanently stopped in 2015. In February 2021, a third 250 MW unit was brought back online. This was to help with dry weather and gas shortages. It used coal, much of which came from Indonesia.
What Powers the Station?
The four original units were built to use two types of fuel: natural gas or coal. The coal comes from the Rotowaro coal mine, which is nearby. A 10-kilometre-long conveyor belt was built to carry coal from the mine to the power station.
Before coal became more common, Huntly used gas from gas fields to power its main units. But in the 1990s, they switched to coal more often as gas supplies changed. The gas for the newer units (units 5 and 6) comes from gas fields in Taranaki.
The power station uses water from the Waikato River to cool its systems. To protect the fish and other river life, there are rules about how much water the station can take. There are also rules about how warm the water can be when it goes back into the river. The water cannot be warmer than 25 °C. These rules mean that on very hot days, the station might not be able to make as much electricity. Sometimes, it has even had to shut down. A new cooling tower was built to help with this. It allows one 250 MW unit to run at full power even on hot days.
Sending Power Out
Most of the electricity made at Huntly Power Station goes to Auckland. Auckland is New Zealand's largest city and is about 95 kilometres north of the station.
Huntly is connected to the rest of New Zealand's national electricity grid. It has a large substation with many connections. Six 220 kV transmission lines carry the power away from Huntly. These lines go to different parts of the country. For example, one line goes to Stratford in Taranaki. Another line goes to Ōtāhuhu substation in Auckland. There is also a line that connects to the Ohinewai switching station.
The Huntly substation also helps send power to local areas. It connects to the 33 kV distribution network in the Huntly area. In 2024, a new 35 MW / 35 MWh Rotohiko battery started working at this location.
The Future of Huntly Power Station
The Huntly Power Station has been a big part of New Zealand's electricity supply. However, it also produces a lot of greenhouse gases. These gases contribute to climate change. Because of this, environmental groups have often protested against the station.
In 2006, a government report suggested that the plant might need to close by 2015. This was part of plans to reduce climate change. However, closing the plant would have been difficult because New Zealand needs more electricity every year, especially around Auckland. It also would have been very expensive.
In May 2012, the Waikato Regional Council gave permission for the gas and coal units to keep running for 25 more years. In April 2016, Genesis Energy announced that two of its coal/gas burning units would continue to operate until December 2022. The two gas turbine generators were planned to keep working for longer.
Marc England, the chief executive of Genesis Energy, has said that by 2025, Genesis would only use coal in its power units during unusual market conditions. The company's goal is to stop using coal completely by 2030.
Genesis Energy has trialed bio-fuel during the summer of 2022/23. They are also building a large 100 MW / 200 MWh grid battery. This battery is planned to be ready for winter 2026.
See also
- Electricity sector in New Zealand
- List of power stations in New Zealand
- Marsden B
Images for kids
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The station in 2005, with the four steam turbine units
