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State-owned electricity generator Meridian Energy says it has been given water-only resource consents for a $900 million hydro development in the Waimate district.
Meridian now has water rights for a 34km hydro-electric tunnel that could produce enough electricity to supply 175,000 homes at a cost of $600 million to $900 million.
The north bank tunnel project could take six years to build 128m underground and would divert water from behind the Waitaki Dam into a big tunnel, through a power station then return it to the Waitaki River at Stonewall, 34km downstream.
By generating between 1100 gigawatt hours (GWh) and 1400GWh of electricity a year, it could supply households in a city the size of Christchurch.
- NZPA
