Controversial hydro scheme canned

Controversial hydro project canned

Meridian Energy will not proceed with the controversial Mokihinui hydro project that had been planned for the West Coast.

Stuff,

23 May, 2012

The project had been formally withdrawn from the Environment Court process, the state-owned energy firm said.

The Department of Conservation (DOC) and other groups had appealed against the decision granting resource consent for the project, located north of Westport.

A 85-metre-high dam was planned that would have created a 14-kilometre-long lake and generated between 310 and 360 gigawatt hours of electricity a year.

The $300 million dam and power station was to have been built 3km upstream of Seddonville.

At hearings, DOC opposed the plan, arguing that the dam and surrounding infrastructure would have an impact on the river and wildlife.

Meridian chief executive Mark Binns said the decision was difficult and followed a full review of the hydro scheme and the risks and uncertainties the project faced.

''The project had a strong business case and would have been beneficial to the West Coast, but it was challenging as the project footprint encroached on Department of Conservation stewardship land,'' he said.

''Given the positive economics offered by the project and the benefits it would bring, Meridian progressed the project.

However, our recent commercial review of the project determined it was not prudent to proceed further, given the high costs and the risks of the process involved, which includes not only securing the resource consents but also land access under the Conservation Act.

''It was the difficulty associated with seeing a path through the land issue that was of most concern.''

The Mokihinui project received resource consent in April 2010 after public consultation.

The decision was appealed to the Environment Court by DOC, Forest & Bird, Whitewater New Zealand and the West Coast Environmental Network Trust.

Meridian would have been required to work through a separate Conservation Act process because the project would have had an effect on public conservation land, Binns said.

''While the decision to withdraw from the Mokihinui hydro project is the right commercial decision for Meridian, it is no doubt a very disappointing outcome for all those who supported the project, particularly on the West Coast,'' he said.

Looking forward, it would be important for industry and stakeholders to work together constructively on how to rule projects in as New Zealand's energy needs continue to grow over coming decades, he said.