$200m tidal-power scheme proposed for Kaipara

A $600 million proposal to generate electricity with 200 tidal-powered turbines submerged at the entrance to the Kaipara Harbour could get under way next year.
Crest Energy Kaipara has applied to the Northland Regional Council for resource consent to set the 22m-tall turbines on the seafloor along about 8km of the 30m deep main channel at the harbour entrance.
Tidal action moving about 8000 million cubic metres of water in and out of the harbour daily is expected to get the turbines generating 200 megawatts of power - enough for 250,000 homes.
Two 30km-long cables 125mm in diameter - similar to Cook Strait cables - would carry electricity from the turbines to a substation at the entrance to the Hoteo River near Glorit, south-west of Wellsford, where it would be fed into the national grid.
Although tidal turbines have been developed overseas, Crest Energy claims the size and commercial scale of the Kaipara project would make it the largest of its kind in the world.
Northland Regional Council coastal consents team leader Allan Richards said yesterday the Crest Energy resource consent application to use the Kaipara Harbour site for 35 years would be publicly notified soon.
Public submissions were expected to be heard in February by a joint commission of the Northland and Auckland regional councils and the Rodney District Council, he said.
The commissioners' decision could be referred to the Environment Court, or their recommendations would be forwarded to the Minister of Conservation.
If the project gets the green light, possibly around the middle of next year, the company plans to raise about $50 million to begin building turbines.
Total costs of the project over 10 years have been estimated at $600 million, offset by revenues from year three. Annual revenue from 200 operational turbines would be about $110 million at present wholesale electricity prices.
Auckland-based Crest Energy was formed last year by Anthony Bellve and Nick Eady.
Profiles on the www.crest-energy.com website say Bellve, in his 60s, has held senior posts at medical institutions in the United States. Eady, 44, has a background in naval architecture, engineering and business development.
They are executive directors of Crest Energy with Anthony Hopkins, a former software consultant and commercial director of Reuters.
The turbines, shielded from fish, would sit on heavy concrete pylons and be at least 5m from the surface at low tide. Leisure craft and barges could pass over them, but would be restricted from anchoring in the turbine area.
Sandbars outside the harbour offer about 5m draught at low tide and few large craft would be likely to enter the harbour.
Cables would be buried a metre below the harbour floor. They would carry a fibre optic strand which would enable any break to be located and fixed within 48 hours.
Meanwhile, Meridian Energy will give Pouto residents a presentation on windfarms for their peninsula at a community meeting at the Waikaretu Marae at Pouto at 10.30am on December 2.
Meridian spokesman Alan Saey said there were no plans for a specific site. Wind monitoring was required to identify the best location for any future proposals.