Hawkes Bay hydro plan

Meridian Energy and lines company Centralines are evaluating a 10MW hydroelectric power project near Otane in central Hawkes Bay.

The scheme would draw water downstream from the Tukituki and Waipawa river tributary and feed it into a 12km-long canal and storage lakes.

As well as having a capacity to feed about half Centralines' peak demand and help combat a predicted electricity shortage, the proposal could potentially irrigate 5500ha of farmland and provide a haven for water sports.

Centralines chairman James Aitken said there was a long way to go but the Central Hawkes Bay lines company and Meridian Energy were keen to see the proposal come to fruition.

He said the canal would immediately affect about 12 farms, and there would need to be extensive negotiations with landowners.

A further 20 to 25 farmers would be able to draw water to irrigate their land.

Aitken said that for the scheme to work there needed to be an indication from potential beneficiaries that they would be keen to use the resource.

At a meeting in Waipawa last week the response was favourable.

Aitken said rough estimates of the cost of the scheme were commercially sensitive, but a more accurate figure would be available during the next few months.

The proposal appeared economically attractive so far, but significant consultation would be needed before it progressed to detailed engineering, funding options and resource consent applications.

- NZPA