Tough conditions for Marsden B restart

Tough conditions imposed on firing up the Marsden B Power Station using coal could stymie the plan.

Environmental watchdog Greenpeace, while disappointed consents have been granted to burn coal at the Ruakaka power station, is confident Mighty River Power will have a difficult time meeting the strict air emission conditions.

A four-strong panel of independent commissioners -- chairman Peter Salmon, QC, Gary Venus, David Hill and air quality expert Mark Goldstone -- have granted approval for the mothballed power station to resume providing power for the national grid.

But the maximum amount of mercury that can be released into the atmosphere above Bream Bay has been limited to 3kg a year by the commissioners.

State-owned power generator Mighty River Power, which applied to Whangarei District and Northland Regional Councils for 11 resource consents to convert the unused oil-fired station to coal, wanted consent to pump out 35kg of mercury a year from the 830,000 tonnes of coal it plans to burn at the station annually.

Greenpeace climate campaigner Vanessa Atkinson said the strict mercury conditions show how dirty coal is.

"Average (mercury) emissions from the coal they want to use is about 14kg a year, nearly five times more than the commissioners will allow," she said.

"The mercury content in coals varies widely and in some, it could be up to 156kg a year in emissions.

"It's going to be almost impossible for Mighty River to meet the mercury emission limits with any coal they use."

Greenpeace would continue to fight against the proposal using whatever means it could.

In February four Greenpeace campaigners scaled the Marsden B building to protest the plan.

"Mighty River is in for a long and hard battle if they proceed with their plans for Marsden B," Ms Atkinson said.

"It's a bad idea and has been from the start. This decision, although not the one we wanted, will not give Mighty River much comfort either.

"The decision is one giant leap backward, back to outdated, polluting energy sources. It is a terrible blow for the environment, for the local community and for efforts to tackle the world's greatest threat -- climate change.

"With New Zealand set to overshoot our Kyoto greenhouse gas reduction targets, and scientists are warning us that we have only 10 years to avoid climate catastrophe, it is ridiculous to allow the country's first coal- fired power station in 25 years."

Mighty River external affairs general manager Neil Williams would not comment on the specifics of the decision until the company had had a chance to study it in detail.

Bream Bay Action Group spokesman Grant Kilmore said the group would appeal the decision to the Environment Court.

- NORTHERN ADVOCATE