A green friendly hydro-electric power scheme on the West Coast has won resource consent.Hydro Development Ltd (HDL) said it had received a formal decision on its Stockton Plateau hydro scheme allowing the company to harness tributaries of the Ngakawau Riv
A green friendly hydro-electric power scheme on the West Coast has won resource consent.
Hydro Development Ltd (HDL) said it had received a formal decision on its Stockton Plateau hydro scheme allowing the company to harness tributaries of the Ngakawau River.
The plan consists of using polluted water from the coal mines on the Stockton Plateau and channelling it through tunnels, reservoirs and power stations, to generate power before discarding it in an ocean outfall offshore.
Commissioners, appointed by West Coast Regional Council and Buller District Council, said the project met Resource Management Act tests.
The scheme "enables the use, development, or protection of natural and physical resources in a way and at a rate to enable communities to provide for their social and economic well being and their health and safety," they said.
They added that it would stop a large volume of acid mine drainage from entering the Ngakawau River which should improve water quality, while using that contaminated water to generate "a much needed local supply of electricity".
The scheme would serve the Buller District, including Westport, as well as north to Karamea and south beyond Charleston.
It would produce enough power to meet residential and major industries' demand. Any surplus power would be fed into the national grid.
When fully commissioned, the scheme is expected to provide a continuous power supply of about 20 megawatts, with output up to 50MW for shorter periods during and following rainfall.
"No-one who has been on the Stockton Plateau when it is raining would doubt those figures," HDL project manager John Easther said.
"A conservative assessment of the energy produced each year is 240 gigawatt hours. Capital costs are in the order of $4-5 million per MW; less than $1 million per GWh pa and similar to recently announced new entrant hydro generation projects."
The company estimates construction costs will be around $200 million, creating about 50 jobs over an expected five-year construction period.
Mr Easther said it would be built using the resources available on the coast, with around $175 million spent on local contractors and supplies.
"It is very much a project for our times being New Zealand-owned, locally driven, and improving the environment while using a renewable energy source to increase New Zealand's electricity generation capacity," Mr Easther said.
"The project implements the environmental call to 'think and act locally'."
"We are now working through the consent requirements that must be satisfied before geotechnical drilling and site works can begin.
"Interim access arrangements for geotechnical drilling have been agreed so final design can progress as access agreements, easements and land exchanges are completed. Activities on site should start in the next month or so."
Consents are open to appeal to the Environment Court until February 8.
