Westpower's Waitaha Hydro Project in New Zealand Undergoes Consenting Process

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources Australia (Perth, Australia)--Westpower Limited (Greymouth, New Zealand), through subsidiary Electronet, is collecting information for consent applications that are necessary for the proposed 16- to 20-megawatt (MW) Waitaha Hydro Power Plant on the Waitaha River in West Coast, New Zealand. The Waitaha power plant will act as a major source of renewable energy that's expected to power as many as 12,000 homes in the West Coast area.

Electronet is applying for consents and performing community consultations. The power plant is expected to have two turbines, rated at capacities of 14 MW and 6 MW, that will produce approximately 16 to 20 MW of electricity.

Project construction is expected to begin three to four years from now and will involve a roughly three-year construction period, creating employment for 24 full-time workers. The project will involve taking water out of the river and piping it down a penstock, through a tunnel that will connect to the powerhouse on the river level below the Morgan Gorge.

The project, which will be built as run-of-the river scheme, has a relatively low environmental impact. It will create economic benefits via employment and a need for local goods and services.

Construction of the project will involve three to four stages, including construction of the powerhouse, a 66-kilovolt (kV) transmission line and installation of the penstock. There will be a 10- to 20-kilometre (km) transmission line that will connect the power plant from the site to South Westland.

The Waitaha Hydro project represents Westpower's second hydroelectric plant after the 7.2-MW Amethyst Hydro Scheme, which was commissioned through subsidiary Amethyst Hydro Limited in June 2013, in the same region. Both hydro projects represent Westpower's approach to hydro development in an environmentally sensitive manner.

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