Greg Moore
Yesterday we found out that the Tiwai Point smelter will be finally closing late next year. This was always going to happen one day, so where to from here?
The Greens are wetting their chinos and getting sweaty sandals imagining all that renewable energy somehow ending up in Grey Lynn to charge up their electric smugmobiles and heat up their free trade soy lattes. They need a wake up call.
There is extremely limited capacity to move Manapouri power north.
A completely new transmission line will need to be built from North Makarewa substation just north of Invercargill all the way to Benmore to start with.
The 110 kV network is right now nearing capacity due to increasing demand in the region. It is vulnerable to loss of supply or low voltage when any 110 kV circuit or 220/110 kV inter-connecting transformer is out for maintenance already.
Then the HVDC link from Benmore to Haywards with the “Cook Strait cable” in the middle will need an extra “pole” (wire) added, and being HVDC, probably two.
You can’t just send 800 Mw more power down the same wire.
The costs of this, in the hundreds of millions at least, will eat up any gains made from the extra power sold up north, and will add substantially to transmission costs to customers in the North Island.
There will be no cheaper power bills.
Power generated in Southland needs to be sold and used in Southland.
The generator Meridian needs to be on the phone tomorrow to large offshore companies that have electricity-intensive operations and get them setting up here.
Amazon, Google, eBay, the lot.
Why not make Southland the South Pacific server centre, powered by 100% renewable energy?
That has got to be a massive marketing tool for these companies.
How can the Government help? Easy. Exempt them from the RMA if they are going to build here. Roading and other infrastructure can go on the shovel ready projects list.
The smelter is closing late next year, and there will probably be another year’s work after that remediating the site so things need to be ready to go the next day.
Southland is chocka block full of good, clever and resourceful buggers. All they need is a project to get stuck into, and for the clipboard numpties and form fillers to stay out of the way.
Come on Southland, we can do this.