The largest geothermal turbine in the world has been constructed just north of Taupo at a new power station which runs renewable energy.

The power station has diminished the threat of power cuts, especially at a time when New Zealand is facing a dry winter.

The energy stripped out of the geothermal turbine will power around 140,000 homes.

That is about 3 percent of all the power the country needs.

But the new turbine is unlikely to bring down power prices.

"These things don't come cheaply. This cost about 430 million NZ dollars (309 million U.S. dollars) to build and to keep doing that, we need to generate the revenue to pay for it," said Heffernan, Mighty River Power spokesman Doug Heffernan.

The state owned enterprise is already seeking resource consents for another power station just up the road.