New turbines for NZ hydro station boost efficiency

A NZ$28 milion investment in new turbines at the Ohakuri hydro station on the Waikato River will increase the station’s efficiency by almost 10 percent to 96 percent.
Mighty River Power will begin installing the four new turbine “runners” at the station by February, and the extra capacity will provide power for another 3500 homes when the project is finished by 2013.
Ohakuri was commissioned in 1961 and this is the first time the turbines have been replaced.
The station currently operates at 89 percent generation efficiency.