"The Wairakei Power Station, the world’s second geothermal power station, and the first to utilise flash steam from geothermal water as an energy source to generate electricity, was commissioned in 1958 and was completed in 1963.
Wairakei lies on an active volcanic zone about 250 kilometres long and 50 km wide, except at both ends where it narrows to 15 km. The power station is built beside the Waikato River, 10 km north of Taupo, and uses the steam from wells drilled in the nearby Waiora Valley. Over 50 wells are at present in production, with an average depth of over 610 metres, the deepest being some 1500 m.
The scheme is based on the tapping of a vast underground water system that has been heated by very hot, perhaps molten, rocks. Steam is produced by drilling to release the great pressure on the very hot water, causing it to boil. The boiling water-steam mixture is brought to the surface and separated, with the ‘dry’ steam being piped to the power station’s turbines, and the hot water discharged into silencers where a drop in atmospheric pressure causes some of it to flash into the large clouds of steam, producing the spectacular displays seen in the steam fields.
It is worth noting that the original steamfield bore was named WK1 (or WK001). Although it has been cemented up, the wellhead is still intact. This has a commemorative plaque installed in 1985. As the original production bore it is symbolic of the pioneering engineering that went into geothermal well drilling - many of the techniques used today are based on that early work. The well is currently owned by the Crown, although it is situated in the Contact Energy owned part of the steamfield.
Wairakei Power Station consists of two powerhouses, now with installed capacities of 67.2 megawatts and 90 MW respectively. Wairakei supplies enough electricity to satisfy about 5 per cent of the North Island’s electricity needs.
The success of this station is a tribute to the scientists and engineers from New Zealand's Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, Ministry of Works, and Electricity Department, who conceived, designed, built, and operated it." (
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The marker inscription reads:
"Wairakei Geothermal Power Development
Ipenz recognises this engineering work as an important part of N. Z.'s engineering heritage. The Wairakei Station was the first in the world to utilise flash steam from geothermal water as an energy source to generate electricity.
Developed in harmony with tribal values, Ohaaki uses tower cooling instead of river water and conserves the borefield by condensate reinjection.
Owner: Electricity Corporation of N.Z. Ltd
Wairakei Commissioned 1958
Ohaaki Commissioned 1989"