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Crest Energy Kaipara was granted resource consents for a 200MW tidal project in the outer part of Kaipara Harbour in 2008 – approval of the consents was subsequently appealed, and the Environment Court heard the appeals in June 2009 with judgment likely to be published in early this year (2010). Meanwhile, Crest Energy has signed an agreement with Todd Energy, in which Todd will acquire 30 percent of the project with an option to acquire a further 15 percent. That backing together with the $1.85 million awarded to Crest Energy from the Marine Energy Deployment Fund in May 2008 should ensure rapid developments, once the consent issues have been resolved. Neptune Power was granted a resource consent for a 1MW prototype tidal turbine off the south coast of Wellington. Neptune Power has been reviewing turbine supply options and is considering the bold step of designing their own. Most recently, Energy Pacifica announced its plans to submit consent application to Marlborough District Council for a 30MW (20 unit) tidal project in the outer part of Tory Channel. Energy Pacifica has begun consultation in the district to ensure local interests are taken into account. Three projects are receiving government research and development grant support. The first is the Wave Energy Technology – New Zealand programme, a joint project between Industrial Research and Power Projects. The project has already had one quarter-scale 2kW prototype in the water since December 2006 and a second quarter-scale device was towed out to sea off Christchurch in mid-December 2009. All going well, the device was to be on location for three months. The project was the winner of the second round of MEDF funding and was awarded $0.76 million in May 2009 for the development of a third half-scale device. The third device is currently in design and will be built by end-2010. NIWA was awarded funding in 2008 for two marine energy related projects – optimisation of tidal and ocean current resources and review of extreme waves and storm surges. The focus of the latter is on extremes as a hazard but it will produce useful results for wave and tidal energy project developers. As noted the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority has made two annual awards under the Marine Energy Deployment Fund – to Crest Energy Kaipara and WET-NZ. The third round closed on November 23, 2009 and any awards are due to be announced mid-April 2010. In policy terms, there have been a number of promising developments for marine energy. The passage of the Emissions Trading Scheme legislation on November 25 will bring the stationary electricity sector into the scheme from July 1, 2010. The establishment of a price for carbon will help to level the playing field for all renewable energy projects and may thus promote marine energy developments. The board of inquiry on the National Policy Statement for Renewable Electricity Generation met in June and July 2009 and Awatea made a presentation on the potential for marine energy to contribute to an increased percentage of renewable energy in New Zealand’s electricity supply portfolio. Lastly, the National Coastal Policy Statement is also under statutory review and new legislation is planned for the Exclusive Economic Zone so there may be some benefits to marine projects. Awatea has also been reviewing the need for a space and resource allocation regime for marine energy projects, equivalent to the regime for oil and gas exploration and production, with the report out in the New Year. The association continues to actively promote marine energy in New Zealand. A new executive officer, Chris Turver, was appointed in December 2009 and will be responsible for domestic activities. I will retain my role as New Zealand representative to the Ocean Energy Systems Implementing Agreement (OES-IA) of the International Energy Agency. The Awatea conference ‘Blue Energy: New Zealand’s Place in the World’ will be held at Te Papa, Wellington in April 2010 and will be a bigger and bolder conference than before. The first day will be devoted to presentations on local projects, while the second day will be presentations by overseas members of the Ocean Energy Systems Implementing Agreement (OES-IA), who will be visiting Wellington because we are hosting the next OES-IA executive committee meeting in the same month. The association is also hoping that the announcement of the third round of MEDF awards will be made at the conference, as the two previous rounds have been. The country also contributes to the development of standards for marine energy and, indeed, a group of New Zealand marine energy experts is leading the international development of a technical specification for wave and tidal energy resource characterization and assessment. The technical specification is a precursor for a standard and should be published by mid-2012. So 2009 was a steady year with a late flurry of activity by key marine energy players. This year will see new legislation effectively promoting renewable energy and electricity generation and ongoing research and development funding by Government. The active project developers should make more progress than has been possible in 2009 and we may see new projects being announced. Meantime, the country’s place on the world map of marine energy will be firmly established by the presence of 17 country government representatives here to speak at the Awatea 2010 conference.
Energy NZ Vol.4 No.1 Energy Perspectives 2010 |
The 2009 year looked like being a quiet year for marine energy but a late flurry of activity amongst the established projects gives confidence that 2010 will be one of important developments. By Dr John Huckerby, Aotearoa Wave and Tidal Energy Association.