Plans to use mothballed power plant

By CHRIS DANIELS

The mothballed Marsden B power station may be fired up to provide emergency backup if hydro lakes run low.

State-owned Mighty River Power, which also owns hydro power stations on the Waikato River and geothermal plants in the lower North Island, is to re-investigate bringing the oil-fired power station near Whangarei into production.

Chief executive Doug Heffernan said previous investigations had shown it could take up to a year to bring Marsden B back into service.

It could act as a possible back-up, dry-year station, to use in case hydro lakes fell too low. He said that was one of the original reasons for building it in the 1970s.

Marsden B has never produced electricity, as cheap Maui gas became available to fuel power stations at the same time it was built. Planning for it began in the early 1970s, and later oil shocks dramatically increased the cost of its fuel.

It has the capacity to generate up to 250 megawatts of electricity, which compares with 1000 megawatts from the Huntly power station or 432 megawatts at the Clyde Dam.

Heffernan said assessment of the steps required to recommission the plant would include a review of the condition of the equipment, what new equipment might be required, a review of the fuel logistics and any resource consent issues.

That would be complete within six to eight weeks.

"At the end of the process we will know if the oil-fired generation at Marsden B can provide a dry-weather back-up by next winter."

Heffernan had previously said the Marsden B station was economic "only if someone throws a huge subsidy" at it.

Announcing the recommissioning study yesterday, he said he now thought it could be economic by providing "additional dry-year, reserve capacity" that would also be of national benefit.