Meridian Energy Puts Brakes on the 260-Megawatt North Bank Hydro Project

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Perth, Australia)--Meridian Energy Limited (Wellington, New Zealand) has suspended plans to build a 260-megawatt (MW) hydro project in New Zealand, according to an announcement made by Chief Executive Officer, Mark Binns.

"We've made a decision to suspend the land negotiations because of the current flat demand for electricity, which means fewer new generation projects will be required in the short- to medium-term," Mark Binns said in a release. "As a result, further work on land access is being suspended."

The North Bank hydro project was granted four water resource consents by Environment Canterbury (Lincoln, New Zealand) in December 2008. In 2009, Meridian applied for land use consents, and faced several appeals from environment court and land owners. An interim decision made by the court had allowed Meridian to conduct geotechnical investigations to gain the consents from land owners. Geotechnical investigation results altered the company's plan to construct a 21-mile-long tunnel along the north bank of the Lower Waitaki River to an 8-mile-long canal section.

The hydro plant will be built as a run-of-the-river project and will consist of a 128-meter dam, which will be fitted with four hydro-turbines and four hydro generators with capacities of 65 MW each.

With no clear indication over when the demand increases, Meridian Energy has announced a decision to withdraw from the project temporarily. However, the company will continue to investigate New Zealand's generation and supply opportunities, as well as economic conditions to build the hydro plant at a later stage if needed.

If built, the hydro station would have generated enough electricity each year to supply about 140,000 homes in New Zealand.

With more than $200 million worth of planned investments, Meridian will continue to be a major contributor for the renewable energy industry in New Zealand.

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