Solid Energy Unveils Power Station Plan
Solid Energy says it will apply for resource consent early next year to build a coal-fired power station in Buller.
Solid Energy chief executive Don Elder told a Tasman District Council meeting on Thursday that the station would balance power production and supply in the South Island.
Solid Energy had been ready to go to the resource consent process in May with a completed design for a 150-megawatt station, he said.
However, after discussions with Transpower, it decided it would be more desirable to have two 120mw units, which would be more economical.
Dr Elder said he was optimistic the specifications for the station would be ready by December and the environmental aspects "sussed out".
The company was looking for a suitable site for the station, which would cost more than $400 million to build.
It was understood that the original plan proposed building the station north of Westport.
AdvertisementAdvertisementDr Elder said that from a resource consent point of view, a coal-fired station would be have similar impacts to a large dairy factory, such as the Westland Dairy factory in Hokitika.
Perceptions about coal were outdated, he said.
"It's a dirty fuel if used in the wrong way. In the right way, it's not dirty."
Dr Elder said he would support any initiative that stopped inefficient domestic burning of coal, which was a "chain around our ankles".
Current technology to remove sulphur dioxide and nitrous oxides was 10 times better than it was 20 years ago, he said.
"Technology can take out as much as you want. Nobody would propose a power station without using that technology."
In the next 10 to 20 years, it would also be more effective to take the carbon dioxide out of emmissions than to pay a carbon tax, he said.
"It would be a big mistake to say `Don't look at that option, and go the route that doesn't use coal'."
West Coast-Tasman MP Damien O'Connor said it was logical that Solid Energy should look at building a power station in Buller. The infrastructure existed, and it would not require a line upgrade to feed power back into the top of the South Island.
"It's one of a number of projects in the wind that would solve the top of the south's energy challenges. This is by far the largest."
However, the likelihood of a coal-fired power station could prompt some debate in Buller.
Buller Conservation Group spokesman Pete Lusk said a coal-fired station would contribute to global warming, as coal was one of the worst fossil fuels for producing greenhouse gases.
There might also be opposition from people who had moved to Granity and Hector for the lifestyle.
But there would probably not be too much local opposition in terms of numbers, he said. "There's a deep-seated loyalty to the coal industry."
