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Project Aqua
Project Aqua was a hydroelectric scheme proposed for the lower Waitaki River in New Zealand. Although the scheme had considerable support from some locals, it met with opposition from many other groups, and Meridian Energy decided in March 2004 not to go ahead with the project. The plan The plan was to divert river water at the rate of up to 280 cubic metres per second into a separate canal for six power stations. This was on top of the three dams already in the upper Waitaki. The scheme would have produced approximately 520MW of power — enough to supply a city the size of Christchurch. Objections The objections to the scheme included land issues, the disruption during construction, and concerns about the sustainability of the river. Meridian was working on a large scale mitigation process, whereby issues could be identified and mitigated, when the scheme was finally canceled. Abandonment and impact On 29 March 2004, Meridian announced that they would not continue with Project ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hydroelectric
Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and also more than nuclear power. Hydropower can provide large amounts of low-carbon electricity on demand, making it a key element for creating secure and clean electricity supply systems. A hydroelectric power station that has a dam and reservoir is a flexible source, since the amount of electricity produced can be increased or decreased in seconds or minutes in response to varying electricity demand. Once a hydroelectric complex is constructed, it produces no direct waste, and almost always emits considerably less greenhouse gas than fossil fuel-powered energy plants. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Waitaki River
The Waitaki River is a large braided river that drains the Mackenzie Basin and runs some south-east to enter the Pacific Ocean between Timaru and Oamaru on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It starts at the confluence of the Ōhau and Tekapo rivers, now at the head of the artificial Lake Benmore, these rivers being fed by three large glacial lakes, Pukaki, Tekapo, and Ōhau at the base of the Southern Alps. The Waitaki flows through Lake Benmore, Lake Aviemore and Lake Waitaki, these lakes being contained by hydroelectric dams, Benmore Dam, Aviemore Dam and Waitaki Dam. The Waitaki has several tributaries, notably the Ahuriri River and the Hakataramea River. It passes Kurow and Glenavy before entering the Pacific Ocean. The River lends its name the Waitaki District on the south side of the river bank. The river's flow is normally low in winter, with flows increasing in spring when the snow cloaking the Southern Alps begins to melt, with flows throughout t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island country by area, covering . New Zealand is about east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and south of the islands of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga. The country's varied topography and sharp mountain peaks, including the Southern Alps, owe much to tectonic uplift and volcanic eruptions. New Zealand's capital city is Wellington, and its most populous city is Auckland. The islands of New Zealand were the last large habitable land to be settled by humans. Between about 1280 and 1350, Polynesians began to settle in the islands and then developed a distinctive Māori culture. In 1642, the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman became the first European to sight and record New Zealand. In 1840, representatives of the United Kingdom and Māori chiefs ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Meridian Energy
Meridian Energy Limited is a New Zealand electricity generator and retailer. The company generates the largest proportion of New Zealand's electricity, generating 35 percent of the country's electricity in the year ending December 2014, and is the fourth largest retailer, with 14 percent of market share in terms of customers as of December 2015. Meridian was one of three electricity companies formed from the break-up of the Electricity Corporation of New Zealand (ECNZ) in 1998–99, taking over the Waitaki River and the Manapouri hydro schemes. Originally a state-owned enterprise wholly owned by the New Zealand Government, the company was partially privatised in October 2013 by the Fifth National Government, with the government retaining a 51.02% shareholding. Today, Meridian operates seven hydroelectric power stations and one wind farm in the South Island of New Zealand, four wind farms in the North Island, and two wind farms in southern Australia – one in South Australia a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christchurch
Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / Ōtākaro flows through the centre of the city, with an urban park along its banks. The city's territorial authority population is people, and includes a number of smaller urban areas as well as rural areas. The population of the urban area is people. Christchurch is the second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand, after Auckland. It is the major urban area of an emerging sub-region known informally as Greater Christchurch. Notable smaller urban areas within this sub-region include Rangiora and Kaiapoi in Waimakariri District, north of the Waimakariri River, and Rolleston and Lincoln in Selwyn District to the south. The first inhabitants migrated to the area sometime between 1000 and 1250 AD. They hunted moa, which led ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Resource Management Act 1991
The Resource Management Act (RMA) passed in 1991 in New Zealand is a significant, and at times, controversial Act of Parliament. The RMA promotes the sustainable management of natural and physical resources such as land, air and water. New Zealand's Ministry for the Environment describes the RMA as New Zealand's principal legislation for environmental management. The RMA and the decisions made under it by district and regional councils and in courts affect both individuals and businesses in large numbers, and often in very tangible ways. The Act has variously been attacked for being ineffective in managing adverse environmental effects, or overly time-consuming and expensive and concerned with bureaucratic restrictions on legitimate economic activities. In February 2021, the Government confirmed that the RMA is to be replaced by three separate acts. These will be the Natural and Built Environment Bill (NBA), the Strategic Planning Bill (SPA), and the Climate Change Adaptat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The New Zealand Herald
''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation of all newspapers in New Zealand, peaking at over 200,000 copies in 2006, although circulation of the daily ''Herald'' had declined to 100,073 copies on average by September 2019. Its main circulation area is the Auckland region. It is also delivered to much of the upper North Island including Northland, Waikato and King Country. History ''The New Zealand Herald'' was founded by William Chisholm Wilson, and first published on 13 November 1863. Wilson had been a partner with John Williamson in the ''New Zealander'', but left to start a rival daily newspaper as he saw a business opportunity with Auckland's rapidly growing population. He had also split with Williamson because Wilson supported the war against the Māori (which the ''Herald'' termed "the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New Zealand Dollar
The New Zealand dollar ( mi, tāra o Aotearoa; sign: $, NZ$; code: NZD) is the official currency and legal tender of New Zealand, the Cook Islands, Niue, the Ross Dependency, Tokelau, and a British territory, the Pitcairn Islands. Within New Zealand, it is almost always abbreviated with the dollar sign ($). "$NZ" or "NZ$" are sometimes used when necessary to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies. Introduced in 1967, the dollar is subdivided into 100 cents. Altogether it has five coins and five banknotes with the smallest being the 10-cent coin; smaller denominations have been discontinued due to inflation and production costs. In the context of currency trading, the New Zealand dollar is sometimes informally called the "Kiwi" or "Kiwi dollar", since the flightless bird, the Kiwi (bird), kiwi, is depicted on its New Zealand one-dollar coin, one-dollar coin. It is the tenth most traded currency in the world, representing 2.1% of global foreign exchange marke ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
North Bank Tunnel
The North Bank tunnel concept was a hydroelectric scheme being developed by Meridian Energy on the Waitaki River in Canterbury, New Zealand. The $993 million project was expected to produce an additional per annum, and take up to of water from Lake Waitaki. The project would have resulted in a per annum reduction in output from the Waitaki hydro station. Discovery of geological faultlines prompted a rethink of the project, including consideration of using a canal instead of a tunnel. Work on the project was suspended in January 2013 due to a forecast of flat demand for electricity for the next five years. Resource consents for the scheme lapsed in 2016. This project is at a similar location to Project Aqua, a hydroelectric power proposal abandoned by Meridian in 2004. Resource consent process In December 2008, Environment Canterbury granted water use consents for this project. Appeals against this decision were made by Ngāi Tahu, Ngāi Tahu Fishers People Inc, the Lower ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Environment Canterbury
Environment Canterbury, frequently abbreviated to ECan. is the promotional name for the Canterbury Regional Council. It is the regional council for Canterbury, the largest region in the South Island of New Zealand. It is part of New Zealand's structure of local government. Geographic coverage and responsibilities The area of its jurisdiction consists of all the river catchments on the east coast of the South Island from the Clarence River, north of Kaikōura, to the Waitaki River, in South Canterbury. The region includes the Canterbury Plains, north and south Canterbury, the major braided rivers of the South Island, (the Waimakariri River, the Rakaia River and the Rangitata River) the Mackenzie Basin and the Waitaki River. The Canterbury Regional Council is responsible for a wide variety of functions including public passenger transport, regional biosecurity, river engineering, environmental monitoring and investigations, regional policy and planning and for considering appl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Environmental Issues In New Zealand
The environment of New Zealand is characterised by an endemic flora and fauna which has evolved in near isolation from the rest of the world. The main islands of New Zealand span two biomes, Temperate climate, temperate and Subtropical climate, subtropical, complicated by large mountainous areas above the tree line.Walter, H. & Breckle, S-W. (2002). ''Walter's Vegetation of the Earth: The Ecological Systems of the Geo-Biosphere''. New York: Springer-Verlag, p. 86 There are also New Zealand Subantarctic Islands, numerous smaller islands which extend into the subantarctic. The prevailing weather systems bring significantly more rain to the west of the country. New Zealand's territorial waters cover a much larger area than its landmass and extend over the continental shelf and abyssal plateau in the South Pacific Ocean, Tasman Sea and Southern ocean. Historically having an isolated and endemic ecosystem far into modernity, the arrival of Polynesians about 1300 AD and then later Eu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
