Waitaki farmers plan private hydro scheme

A Waitaki Valley family-owned company wants to build its own hydro scheme on the lower Waitaki River to generate electricity for its two farms, with any surplus being sold to local network lines companies.

Clarkesfield Holdings Ltd, owned by the family of David and Clare Easton, outlined the scheme, on the north bank of the lower Waitaki River, to an Environment Canterbury (ECan) resource consents hearing in Oamaru yesterday.

The proposal is to divert from a side stream up to 4.2cumecs of water into a 0.2ha intake pond up to 1.5m deep, then into a canal about 3.5km long, down a concrete penstock and through a turbine to produce 296kW of electricity.

The proposal is a concept at this stage and no detailed engineering plans would be prepared until the outcome of its applications for water were known.

This posed a problem for hearings panel chairman Prof Peter Skelton.

He said there was not enough detail in the material provided for the panel to seriously consider granting a land-use consent for the project.

"We need a plan we can rely on to show us the nature and extent of the works proposed," he said.

If necessary, the hearings panel might have to resume hearing the Clarkesfield applications so it could received more detailed engineering plans, Prof Skelton said.

Clarkesfield has applied to ECan for three resource consents to construct and maintain the scheme, divert water and discharge it back into the river.

The applications are among about 56 being heard in Oamaru to use water on the river below the Waitaki dam.

The hydro scheme does not interfere with the Meridian Energy Ltd $900 million north bank tunnel concept hydro-electricity scheme between the Waitaki dam and the Stonewall.

In fact, the Clarkesfield proposal had the full support of Meridian, Clarkesfield legal counsel Ben Williams said.

Meridian had bought the Clarkesfield property.

Clarkesfield now leases the property and has a buy-back option.

Mr Williams said ownership of the Clarkesfield hydro scheme would always remain with Clarkesfield.

Meridian's water infrastructure development manager Nick Eldred said the Clarkesfield scheme could operate whether or not Meridian built its north bank scheme.

Mr Easton said electricity produced by the scheme would be used by the 563ha Clarkesfield dairy farm owned by his family and probably by its 406ha Twin Terraces dairy farm on the south bank at Papakaio.

It could also be used to expand spray irrigation and, in the future, even for battery-powered farm vehicles.

The proposed scheme used a unique feature of Clarkesfield - the fall in the river on its boundary - to generate electricity.

The electricity produced would be distributed close to its point of generation, with any surplus going to local network companies, Mr Easton said.

Mr Williams said the scheme was innovative and would provide Clarkesfield with its own electricity for its farming operations with little need for an external supply, he said.

Environmental engineer consultant Keri Johnston said no other water users were affected because there were no existing consents between the intake and discharge for the scheme.

The adverse effects on the environment would be no more than minor.

Clarkesfield's proposal does not comply with the Waitaki catchment water allocation regional plan, including the minimum flow of 150cumecs and the amount of electricity it would generate.

Clarkesfield is seeking a minimum flow of 100cumecs.

In a report on the proposal, ECan consents investigating officer David Just could not recommend the three consents be granted.

That is not binding on the hearings panel.