Company chief executive Murray Jackson today said Genesis had lodged a High Court appeal against the environment court’s decision regarding the Tongariro Power Development (TPD). TPD water passes through several Genesis and Mighty River Power hydro stations, as well as being used as cooling water for the 1000MW Huntly thermal station which Genesis operates.
“We cannot plan for sustainable operation of the Tongariro hydro scheme with a ten year time horizon. Like other power generators, long term commercial certainty over the operation of our assets is essential to meet New Zealand’s energy needs”, Jackson said.
EnergyReview.Net on Tuesday reported that the court ruling - to slash water right renewal from 35 years to 10 years with no guarantee of renewal - not only affects the Tongariro and Waikato power stations but adds fuel to the LNG-coal-gas-renewables debate.
