Power Station Hearing in September at Albany

July 2008

Details of the 100+ submissions on the power station proposal near Kaukapakapa are available for viewing at the Rodney District Council's offices, including its' Helensville office.  

There is an opportunity for the next few weeks, for submitters to make a further submission on matters raised by other submitters.

Submissions on Genesis Energy’s Private Plan Change application to RDC for a “Thermal Energy Generation Zone” near the rural village of Kaukapakapa and on the resource consent applications to the Auckland Regional Council for air and water discharges, will be heard together.

The joint hearing of both the ARC and RDC planning consents and will take place at the North Harbour Stadium on or about September 24.  A panel of independent Commissioners will be appointed, three for each Council, and will hear the submissions jointly, but will deliberate separately.

The Commissioners’ recommendations, likely to be released in early 2009, will then go to the ARC and RDC Councils for approval.

At the September hearing in Albany, submitters will have the opportunity to present a more detailed case to the Commissioners.  This may be in the form of a written statement that expands on the points made in the original written submission.  This statement can be read by a nominated advocate, and may include examples that illustrate some of the points in the submission or comments about the Councils’ recommendations. 

Submitters may expand in more detail on their original submission and can also include evidence from experts, such as professional planning, hydrology, and environmental experts.

Use of an advocate or lawyer to help present a submission is recommended (by the Ministry for the Environment), if the submission explores legal matters, or if a professional interpretation of legislation or case law is needed.

The Commissioners won’t necessarily be experts in the planning matters being addressed and will want to hear good, solid evidence to help them make a decision.

Expert witnesses are recommended (by MOE), if submitters need to present evidence about technical topics. 

At a private plan change hearing, the applicant is certain to use expert witnesses to support its case. This means it makes sense for submitters to also use expert witnesses, such as planning consultants, surveyors, engineers or scientists when they need to present clear evidence opposing the application.

 May  2008

Full-sized 480MW power station notified - submissions closed early May

Despite earlier suggestions that it might down-size the proposal for a combined cycle gas-fired power station at Kaukapakapa, Genesis Energy has applied for consents to establish a full-time  480MW capacity power station at the site.

The company intends to develop this in two stages of 240MW, but the outcome is the same.  The proposed Rodney power station  will become a full-time base load station, not the peaking supply station that the company claims it needs for this area.  See following story.

April 2008

Submission and hearings process for power station

The submission and hearings process for the proposed gas-fired power station at Kaukapakapa was outlined to West Rodney residents at a public meeting on Thursday April 17th.

 The deadline for public submissions on the proposed power station is May 16^th.

 Staff from both the Auckland Regional Council and the Rodney District Council outlined resource consent applications from Genesis Energy to more than 90 people at the meeting in the Helensville Memorial Hall.

The second half of the meeting was an open public meeting to hear several local speakers, and to answer more general questions on the proposal and the consent process.

 The ARC’s consent manager Andrew Benson introduced the Council’s consultant and project manager Tony Poninghaus who outlined the 15 resource consents and the submission process.

 “It is a judicial process and it is important that you use the Councils’ official submission forms that are available online or from the Councils,” said Mr Poninghaus.

 It was also important that people making submissions read the detailed information available in the Assessment of Environmental Effects, submitted by Genesis Energy as part of its resource consent applications, he said.

 He was followed by RDC senior planner, Ian Bayliss, who introduced the Private Plan Change process that Genesis Energy needs to go through to get the zoning on the site changed to a proposed “Thermal Energy Generation Zone”. 

 The hearing process will be a joint hearing of both the ARC and RDC planning consents and will take place at the North Harbour Stadium on September 24.  A panel of independent Commissioners will be appointed, three for each Council, and will hear the submissions jointly, but deliberate separately, Mr Bayliss said.

 The Commissioners recommendations, likely to be released in early 2009, will then go to the Councils for approval, but this will just be a formality, he said.

 After council staff had left residents were urged to make their submissions personal, emphasising how each consent affected them.

“It’s also very important to read the detail of the consents in the Genesis AEE and relate this to the issues that affect you,” said Kaipara Forest and Bird convenor, Suzi Phillips.

 She raised questions about the extent of disclosure and honesty of the company’s public consultation process, and its’ justification for needing the power station.

 “Despite telling you for the past few years that the power plant is a small one (up to 360MW) for local security of supply, it has now applied for a full-sized 480MW plant that is intended to eventually replace generation at Huntly power station.”

 “This is a baseload station, not a peaking supply station as they claim,” she said. 

“They are applying for resource consents so that the full 480MW capacity can be used 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”

 Environmental threats to the Kaukapakapa River were outlined including the long term changes that were likely to result from the discharge of polluted wastewater to the river.
 Copyright Suzi Phillips April 2008

White Elephant for Kaukapakapa

February 2008

Genesis Energy is proposing a white elephant for Kaukapakapa that will cost taxpayers about $500 million dollars. 

The company's proposal for a gas-fired power station will contribute to global warming by discharging up to 1.74 million tones of CO2 into the atmosphere each year as well as other harmful greenhouse gases.  It will also discharge cooling water that can potentially pollute the Kaukapakapa River aquatic and riparian environment.

Government energy policy imposed a moratorium on new thermal generation in October last year.  The New Zealand Energy Strategy and the Climate Change Bill imposed a ten year moratorium on new thermal base-load power stations. The aim was to encourage an increase in the country's electricity generated from renewable resources to rise from 70 per cent to 90 per cent by 2050

Genesis Energy talked about changing the design  to a likely 160MW standby combined-cycle gas generating power station, proposed to operate only when 'peak load' is needed.   The problem is that most air discharge of harmful greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and other nitric oxides, is done on start-up.  A peak load station, designed to start and stop more frequently, is likely to result in a much higher discharge of these greenhouse gases.  

This would make a mockery of the Government's attempts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by banning new non-renewable generation.

In December, the chief executive of the Major Electricity Users Group, expressed concern at new inefficient standby generation proposals and said that, “not only are we going to have inefficient plant sitting around that consumers will have to pay for when not used, but when the standby thermal plant is used they have a poorer emissions profile than the plant government has banned." (4 December 2007, Press Release: Major Electricity Users Group).

Security of supply is not a long term issue for north of Auckland because Transpower is upgrading transmission across the Auckland Harbour to Albany, and also via Henderson.  There are also proposals for large wind-turbine projects in the north (eg at North Head on the Kaipara) and the tidal turbine proposal for the Kaipara Harbour.

In February 2008, Rodney District Council accepted the Plan Change and Variation applications from Genesis Energy. The power station proposal at Kaukapakapa will now go through a resource consent hearing process.  The ARC has consent applications from Genesis for air and water discharges for the power station proposal and these are likely to be heard at the same time. 

Submissions on the consent applications will be called for soon, possibly in late March, and will be heard by independent hearing commissioners, in about July/August.  

Genesis are still proposing to discharge cooling water into the Kaukapakapa River.  They have talked with RDC about Genesis Energy contributing towards a desperately needed multi-million dollar upgrade of the Helensville Wastewater plant, but no agreement has yet been confirmed. Genesis are also applying for consents for taking water from the Kaukapakapa River and plans to build a large in-take structure out into the river.

Kaipara Forest and Bird is interested in the effects water discharge might have for the sensitive aquatic and riparian environment in the river.  This discharge will contain contaminants from the process, albeit very diluted.  These could affect the river environment and the aquatic and bird life that rely on the river including rare bitterns, banded rails, and fernbirds.   The intake structure will also affect  recreational use of the river, for local people and visitors who regularly kayak, sail/motor and cruise on the river. 

Please consider making a submission on the resource consent applications.

For more information, contact suzi@dialogue.co.nz

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Kaukapakapa residents say no to burning gas

Strong opposition to proposed gas-turbine power station near Kaukapakapa was expressed by many at the Kaipara energy forum in September 2007.  Residents spoke of the likely impacts of the proposal, including CO2 emissions, and discharges into the Kaukapakapa River.  Many  were opposed to the use of non-renewable fossil fuels when renewable options were available in Rodney, and questioned the safety and use of imported LNG.

Others questioned Mayor John Law’s support for the gas-fired power station when many residents would prefer clean, green, environmental options for power generation such as wind-turbines, tidal turbines or solar power.

It was a very successful meeting with 92 people filling the Helensville Memorial Hall. Speakers included Malcolm Alexander for Genesis, Al Yates for Windpower NZ, Dr Anthony Bellve for Crest Energy, Jeanette Fitzsimons for energy conservation, Rodney Mayor John Law , and energy analyst, Murray Ellis. The meeting was facilitated by energy conservation expert, Dr Peter Phillips.
"Renewable technologies are available now to enable the move away from fossil fuels," said Green Party co-leader and energy conservation spokesperson, Jeanette Fitzsimons.

"There is no need to build more fossil fuel burning plants like the Genesis gas-fired turbine proposal,” she said.  Using the gas-fired option would mean having to import LNG as gas resources are very limited in New Zealand. Importing LNG would mean supply is linked to the world fuel market, and this is a very costly and undesirable option."

"No amount of building new power stations will solve the problem”, said Ms Fitzsimons.  "A kilowatt saved is better than a kilowatt generated.  We need to do use the energy we have much more efficiently, from energy efficient houses with more insulation, passive solar, solar panels and thermal mass storage, to more efficient motorcars," she said.

"New Zealand, and especially Rodney, is very well endowed with renewable resources such as wind and sunshine and has the technology to make use of it. We should be increasing the amount of renewable generation and can increase this to 20% of the total supply – we are only at 2% now. Wood waste energy, ocean energy and solar energy were other options for increasing renewable generation,” said Ms Fitzsimons.

Al Yates from Windfarm Group talked about the Poutoa wind farm proposed for South Head (south of Wilson Road) that will produce 5-34MW (depending on the wind), and operate 93 per cent of the time with no CO2 emissions. The $62 million project is proposed for the ridgeline north of Woodhill forest on South Head and is in one of the windiest sites in the Auckland region.

"In terms of CO2 emissions, our windfarm is equivalent to putting 16,000 cars off the road, whereas a gas-fired turbine station is equivalent to adding an extra 16,000 cars. It has the benefit of giving extra stability to the grid and complements tidal power, he said.