Kaipara tide turbine plan gets Govt green light

Waves just off Pouto Point on the southeast corner of the Pouto Peninsula (North Head) of the Kaipara Harbour. Photo / supplied

A $600 million proposal to create New Zealand's first tide-driven power station in the Kaipara Harbour has been approved by Government despite concerns it could kill off fish stocks and threaten critically endangered Maui dolphin.

Conservation Minister Kate Wilkinson this morning signed off the staged installation of 200 tidal turbines near the mouth of the harbour by Crest Energy.

Local fisherman, Te Uri O Hau Settlement Trust and the Department of Conservation had opposed the plan, arguing it could reduce west coast snapper stocks, threaten the environment of the pristine harbour and impact Maui dolphin numbers.

But Ms Wilkinson backed an Environment Court ruling approving the station on the condition it started with only three turbines and conducted two years of environmental monitoring.

If fully implemented, it is estimated the development could generate enough electricity to power the area from Auckland's North Shore to Cape Reinga, she said.

"The Environment Court carefully studied the project and I agree with its report.

"This is the first large-scale commercial approval for tidal power generation and it has the potential to play a significant role in the development of a new source of renewable energy in New Zealand."

The potential environmental impacts of the development had been worked through over the four-year consent process, Ms Wilkinson said.

"I am aware of concerns raised by submitters and believe the conditions set out would ensure any possible negative impacts can be properly monitored and accounted for."

Murray Prictor, a commercial fisherman in the Kaipara Harbour for almost 50 years, said the turbines could severely impact fish stocks in a key area catching for snapper.

He was concerned about the underwater noise they would generate and the possibility that the shifting sands of the harbour would make them impossible to maintain.

"Each one of those turbines creates a noise like a medium sized tugboat. The snapper are scared off by the noise. They're just going to disappear.

"I'm not against change, I just don't know about making it at the expense of other people."

Northland Regional Council is charged with monitoring the impact of the first three tidal turbines on marine wildlife including snapper
If they do not adversely impact the harbour, Crest Energy can add another 17 turbines.

From there, the council will decide whether to allow turbines to be built up in further stages from 20 to 40, then 80 and then to a maximum of 200.