Matiri Project
The Matiri Project is a run-of-river hydroelectric scheme at Lake Matiri and the Matiri River in the South Island of New Zealand. The project takes water from a series of intake weirs at Lake Matiri and pipes it through a 2.4 km long buried pipeline to a power station.[1] The project was originally proposed by New Zealand Energy Limited, which applied for resource consent for a 4.6 MW station in August 2008.[2] The scheme was opposed by environmentalists and kayakers some of whom were angry that the resource consents were not notified nationwide.[3] The proposal was approved and it included a concession granted by the Department of Conservation to build structures on public land. Forest and Bird did not see that there would be any conservation gain in giving the approval.[4] The development rights were purchased by Pioneer Energy in 2014.[1] Construction began in 2018.[5] Construction was delayed by a slip[6] and by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the scheme was finally commissioned in December 2020.[1] Ownership was transferred to the Southern Generation partnership on completion.[1] See alsoReferences
|