Kaipara Tidal Power Station

The Kaipara tidal power station is a proposed tidal power project to be located in the Kaipara Harbour. The project is being developed by Crest Energy, with an ultimate size of 200MW at a cost of $600 million.[1]

Kaipara Tidal Power Station
CountryNew Zealand
LocationKaipara Harbour, Northland
Coordinates36°25′S 174°10′E
StatusProposed
Construction cost$600 million
Owner(s)Crest Energy
Tidal power station
TypeTidal stream generator
Power generation
Units operational200 × 1.2 MW
Nameplate capacity200 MW
External links
Websitewww.crest-energy.com

Crest plans to place the turbines at least 30 metres deep along a ten kilometre stretch of the main channel. Historical charts show this stretch of the channel has changed little over 150 years. The output of the turbines will cycle twice daily with the predictable rise and fall of the tide. Each turbine will have a maximum output of 1.2 MW, and is expected to generate 0.75 MW averaged over time.[1]

In 2013, it was announced that the project had been put on hold, and most of the shares in Crest Energy had been sold to Todd Energy.[2]

Kaipara Harbour

The entrance to Kaipara Harbour, one of the largest harbours in the world, is a channel to the Tasman Sea. It narrows to a width of 6 kilometres (3.7 mi),[3] and is over 50 metres (160 ft) deep in parts. On average, Kaipara tides rise and fall 2.10 metres (6.9 ft). At high tide, nearly 1000 square kilometres are flooded. Spring tidal flows reach 9 km/h (5 knots) in the entrance channel and move 1,990 million cubic meters per tidal movement or 7,960 million cubic meters daily.[4]

Consents

In 2008, the Northland Regional Council granted resource consents for only 100 turbines. This was appealed to the Environment Court, which in 2011 set conditions for the project allowing for 200 turbines, with many conditions including staged development.[5] The minister of conservation granted resource consents for the project in March 2011.[6]

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See also

References
  1. "Kaipara tidal power". Crest Energy. Retrieved 19 March 2011.
  2. Doesburg, Anthony (30 September 2013). "Kaipara marine turbine plan on hold". NZ Herald.
  3. Haggit T, Mead S, and Bellingham M (2008) Kaipara Harbour Environmental Information Review ARC Technical Publication TP 354
  4. Bellve, AR; Austin, G and Woods, B (2007) Pathway to energy generation from marine tidal currents in New Zealand's Kaipara Harbour Archived 2008-10-14 at the Wayback Machine University of Auckland
  5. Thompson, Wayne (8 February 2011). "Tidal power station for Kaipara approved". NZ Herald.
  6. "Kaipara Harbour tidal turbine project approved" (Press release). Kate Wilkinson, Minister for Conservation. 17 March 2011.
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