Hearings begin on Contact’s Hawea hydro project

21 May 2007

Hearings begin on Contact’s Hawea hydro project

Resource consent hearings will begin on Wednesday 23 May into Contact Energy’s small-scale hydro electricity generation project at the Hawea Dam control gates in Central Otago.

The hearings will be held at the Edgewater Resort, Wanaka, and are expected to run for about three days. The project has already received resource consents from the Queenstown Lakes District Council and this week’s hearings will be considering consent applications to the Otago Regional Council.

Contact Energy Communications Manager, Jonathan Hill, said Contact withdrew a 2004 application for the project and had redesigned the scheme to address the concerns of the local community and to significantly reduce the environmental effects.

“We have come up with a very good scheme which will provide the local community with up to 17 megawatts of clean, renewable electricity and make a small contribution to New Zealand’s security of electricity supply,” he said.

Mr Hill said he was pleased that the submissions received on the project were generally supportive of it.

“The Hawea Gates project is strategically located in an area which has expanded rapidly in recent years.

“Through harnessing an existing resource which is currently untapped - by installing turbines into the current outlet from the Dam to the Hawea River - the Hawea Gates hydro scheme will help meet strong regional electricity demand with minimal environmental impact,” he said.

Mr Hill said Contact had commissioned architects and landscape designers to ensure the final design of the turbine houses fitted with the local environment and the company would continue to work with the local community on the appearance of the project.

ENDS

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