Meridian Energy Ltd yesterday received interim approval to take water from the lower Waitaki River for its $900 million north bank tunnel-concept power scheme on the lower river, sources said.
The decision is expected to be officially released today by Environment Canterbury (ECan), but has been made available to Meridian and was expected to be sent last night to groups and individuals who made submissions on the scheme.
The Otago Daily Times has been told it is an interim decision, which grants a water-only resource consent but is subject to agreement on conditions.
Meridian applied to ECan to take up to 260cumecs from the lower Waitaki River above the Waitaki dam for a 34km tunnel between the dam and Stonewall, near Ikawai.
A single powerhouse would generate between 1100 and 1400GWh of electricity a year.
If consent is finally granted, it will be subject to any appeals to the Environment Court.
The water-only consent is a first step in gaining approval for the scheme.
Meridian will now carry out detailed design and investigation work so it can apply to the Waimate District Council for land-use consent to construct and operate the scheme.
The case for the scheme was put to commissioners appointed by ECan - former Environment Court judge Prof Peter Skelton (Christchurch), environmental consultant Mike Bowden (Kaiapoi) and freshwater scientist and ecologist Greg Ryder (Dunedin) - at a hearing conducted in Timaru in August and September last year and in Christchurch in August this year.
The application did not comply with the Waitaki catchment water-allocation regional plan prepared by a Government-appointed board in 2005.
Meridian sought a variable minimum flow between the Waitaki dam and Stonewall of between 110 and 150cumecs, below the plan's minimum of 150cumecs.
That brought opposition from many submitters, who wanted the plan's provisions adhered to.
