The project, which would allow for the enlargement of Lake Onslow and the storing of water to help power generation in dry years, has been brought back into the spotlight by a new group.
The directors of Pumped Hydro Holdings Ltd have had discussions with landowners and said last month it was hoping to progress the multibillion-dollar project through the government’s fast-track process.
The four directors of the company are former Transpower chairman and Meridian Energy chief executive Keith Turner, former minister for the environment and longtime Labour MP David Parker, Christchurch lawyer and mediator John Hardie and former Meridian Energy executive Ken Smales.
The application was made on Sunday, Mr Turner said earlier this week. The fast-track process was introduced for major infrastructure projects such as housing, roading and energy generation to bypass obstacles in the Resource Management Act process.
The first step in the fast-track process was to complete a pre-lodgement consultation. It then had to write and submit the application.
The Ministry for the Environment will then assess the application for completeness. Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop will then decide whether to accept or decline the application.
The application had happened very quickly as the group was only placed on the companies register last month. The group had met landowners over the past few weeks and gauged support.
The battery project idea at the lake was first thought of by Waikato University Associate Prof Earl Bardsley in 2002 and has been passed around ever since.
It revolves around a pumped hydro scheme at Lake Onslow, above Millers Flat. The lake would be significantly enlarged and water would be pumped uphill from the Clutha River when power prices were low and the river was running high.
The water would be stored in the form of a battery and used in times of power shortages, being put back through a 1000MW power station and then the Clutha River.
The previous government set up the NZ Battery Project in 2020 to look at the feasibility of the scheme and spent $30 million on analysis.
But when the National-led government took over in 2023, it dumped the project almost immediately, saying it had consenting issues and would take at least a decade to build.
The new project would not use public money. Dr Turner said he sat on renewable power projects in New South Wales and there was much interest from overseas capital and he said Onslow should be the same.
The project had been costed at $16 billion in the analysis done by MBIE, but the cost the new group had was $8.5b.
