1. Introduction
This report provides information on future hydro-electricity opportunities in New Zealand. The opportunities have been identified from publicly available information and organised on a regional basis.
The project brief required only opportunities to be included where there is a high to medium confidence level of their proceeding. As a result the report does not provide a fully comprehensive list of all the opportunities available. However to provide a context for the report the authors have included comment on other catchments where they consider there may be economic opportunities not yet identified, where previous investigations have been constrained by specific assumptions, or where alternative designs of identified but currently considered uneconomic schemes may be possible.
The report expands on the national viewpoint covered in a 2002 report prepared by East Harbour Management Services (East Harbour) for the Ministry of Economic Development, Availabilities and Costs of Renewable Sources of Energy for Generating Electricity and Heat.
The purpose of this report is to provide information on the resource that might be developed for electricity generation in the 20 year timeframe so that material national interest decisions can be addressed by government. The information will be included in a project being convened by the Ministry of Economic Development on Waters of National Importance.
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