EnergyNo Lake Onslow pumped hydro before late 2037Cabinet documents and a 429-page indicative business case reveal new details of the costliest energy project proposed in New Zealand, Marc Daalder reportsA multi-billion dollar pumped hydroelectric station at Lake Onslow in the South Island won't be commissioned until late 2037 and could take another one to three years to fill to maximum capacity. The new date raises questions for the Government, which sees Lake Onslow or an alternative portfolio of renewable electricity options as crucial to reaching 100 percent renewable electricity by 2035. Lake Onslow would store five terawatt hours of electricity and have capacity of 1000 megawatts to ease dry year pressure. The scheme could produce 570 megawatts of electricity and store 2.7 terawatt hours, according to a report by consultancy Stantec. A "do nothing" scenario, in which fossil fuels remain the dry year solution, wasn't entertained by the NZ Battery Project business case.

Source: Stuff April 13, 2023 18:27 UTC