Todd Energy Acquires Cornerstone Stake in Tidal Project
Expressing its commitment to promote renewable electricity sector, Todd Energy has decided to acquire 30 per cent stakes in tidal project in the Kaipara Harbour. It would invest in Crest Energy which intends to connect 200 turbines to the bottom of Kaipara's main channel.
The project worth $600 million is expected to be operational within nine years. Todd Generation Manager Tim Cosgrove informed that the exact work out of project would take time and a mutually accepted formula would be developed for distributing costs.
Cosgrove said that the country has huge advantage of having huge number of suitable sites for the generation of tidal power. He also ruled out any negative impact on the sea floor and marine life from the prospective power project.
The project is capable to produce 200 megawatts of power for lighting up about 250,000 homes in the region. Crest Spokesperson, Anthony Hopkins said that it has been waiting for a favorable verdict from the Environment Court though it has already secured resource consent.
It should be recalled that government had provided a special grant of $1.85 million to Crest but the firm needs to complete the project first before actually utilizing the funds.
(via TopNews New Zealand)