This week’s Environment Court decision enables Meridian to retain its current storage, operating conditions and generation capacity.
‘‘The Waitaki Power Scheme has long been the backbone of New Zealand’s electricity system, and changing the way that it operates would have had enormous impacts for every New Zealander,’’ Mr Roan said.
‘‘Hydro generation is the cheapest and cleanest firming solution for New Zealand’s electricity system.
‘‘Knowing we can continue to operate Waitaki for another 35 years provides certainty to our business, the electricity system and the economy.
‘‘It also means we can step up the work we’re doing to explore opportunities to add more storage and generation.’’
As New Zealand’s largest hydroelectricity power scheme, Waitaki plays a critical role in the country’s electricity system and economy.
The six hydro stations from Lake Pūkaki to Waitaki, including Ohau stations, owned by Meridian, generate enough electricity each year for about 832,000 average New Zealand homes, with an installed capacity of 1553MW — almost 30% of New Zealand’s installed hydro capacity.
The two overall schemes, including Genesis Energy owned Tekapo A and B stations, generate about 18% of the country’s annual electricity needs and provide more than 75% of average hydroelectricity storage.
A Meridian spokesperson said they would ‘‘immediately implement the new resource consents, which include a significant increase in the indigenous biodiversity management in the catchment delivered through the Department of Conservation’’.
The Waitaki River Catchment is a nationally important braided river ecosystem that is home to a range of threatened or at-risk native birds, insects, lizards and fish, including taonga species.
In 2023 a $2.3 million-per-annum agreement to significantly boost freshwater conservation between Doc, Meridian Energy and Genesis Energy was signed.
Doc director-general Penny Nelson said that agreement would expand the scope and scale of the successful programme in the Upper Waitaki river system, known as Project River Recovery (PRR).
This included funding to expand weed and predator control and wetland conservation into the Lower Waitaki catchment, increasing the existing river habitat restoration and island creation (for nesting river birds), wetland enhancement, and research and monitoring along the Takapō, Pūkaki and Ōhau rivers.
A Doc spokesperson said the Indigenous Biodiversity Enhancement Programme (IBEP) proposed to expand the approach taken under PRR using significantly greater resources provided by the generators, including extending the range of projects to include ecological interventions in the Lower Waitaki River (previously excluded from PRR) and greater involvement of mana whenua in project design and governance.
The revised IBEP is to be funded by the two electricity generators, with Meridian to contribute a minimum $2.3m (CPI adjusted) annually to a management fund administered by Doc.
Doc has worked in partnership with mana whenua to develop a 10-year strategic action plan for the IBEP.
