Small is beautiful
Fri, 16 Jul 2010 4:08 pm – Posted by Mandy | No Comments
Blogger: VUW Research Fellow and West Coast Committee Member, Brian Anderson
Recently, I attended a renewable energy strategy meeting for the West Coast, on behalf of Forest and Bird.
The meeting was sponsored by Development West Coast and came after statements last year from West Coast Regional Council CEO Chris Ingle that council should “explicitly promote the West Coast” as a power exporter and lobby the Government to change the Conservation Act to enable more use of conservation land. So it was with some trepidation that I went along.
I was pleasantly surprised then, when the energy users and suppliers, district council staff, conservation groups and recreationalists, pretty much all agreed that the West Coast should aim to be self sufficient in electricity, not a net exporter. This would mean only modest amounts of additional generation are required.