New Transpower cable project to secure supply for decades

Northland has secured its electricity supply beyond 2030 - and avoided potential blackouts - thanks to a $473 million power project.
National grid operator Transpower recently announced a five-year North Auckland and Northland Project (NAaN), that will see the installation of 27km of cable between Penrose and Albany, ensuring greater security of supply for Northland.
Without it, Northland would have faced blackouts during peak demand periods after 2016, Transpower said.
It will provide the region with an alternative supply to the existing transmission network.
Apart from boosting supply by 580MW, the alternative line will also work as a back-up in case supply from the existing transmission line is disrupted.
Northland's nearly 150,000 residents use about 530MW annually, says Transpower. Demand in Northland and North Auckland is expected to rise to 1040MW in 2014 and 1160MW in 2019.
"Security of supply is generally about ensuring future demand is met and, in this case, the project provides capacity for well beyond 2030," Transpower communications manager Adele Fitzpatrick said. Factors such as growth in population, businesses, farming sector and consumers using more electrical appliances could all increase demand for power.
The population in Northland's main centre, Whangarei, is projected to rise from the 74,463 of 2006 to 86,564 in 2016, to 96,173 in 2026 and to 104,883 in 2036, according to the Whangarei District Council.
The areas of highest population growth between 2016 and 2036 are expected to be in Opouteke-Tanekaha, Punaruku-Kiripaka, Marsden Point - Ruakaka, Kamo East and Wharekohe-Oakleigh.
Ms Fitzpatrick said without the NAaN project, parts of Northland would not have sufficient power supply during peak periods, from about 2016.
"With each year beyond 2016, the time and duration of outages would increase."
She said a five-year timeframe was necessary to design and build a project of this size, including obtaining resource consent for activities associated with it.
Another power company, Crest Energy, already has resource consent for a $600 million tidal power generation project in Kaipara Harbour.
It is capable of generating up to 200MW of electricity for up to 250,000 homes.
Meridian Energy is investigating wind farms at Pouto and the Far North.
Ms Fitzpatrick said new generation was always welcomed in Northland, although there was no guarantee that either of the two projects by Crest Energy and Meridian would go ahead.
Even if they did, it had to be remembered that generation was not always as available as transmission.
"Our network is available around 98 per cent of the time, compared to maybe 50 per cent for a wind farm," said Ms Fitzpatrick.