Power to skiers from long drop?

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 11, Issue 501, 31 August 1993, Page 5 (Supplement)

Power to skiers from long drop?

Skiers could be making a major contribution towards the energy requirements of their sport at Mt Ruapehu's Whakapapa Skifield if a novel generation scheme proves viable. King Country Energy has been asked if they are interested in a scheme to generate up to a megawatt of electricity - about the

same as the skifield's peak load - from the sewage the skiers leave behind. The Department of Conservation has told the energy company that it is considering plans to fully reticulate the skifield and has offered King Country Energy the rights to utilise the piped sewage to generate electricity.

Conservation officer Don Bogie told the Bulletn the idea is an offshoot of just one of the options for cleaning up the sewage problem at Iwikau, which at times has a population as great as Ohakune or Raetihi. He said the department is considering a number of options, including full reticulation of the village.

A decision on which option the department will go for is expected after a meeting at the end of September. At present, environmental impact reports on various options are being prepared. Almong the problems being endured with the present situation are the effects of the increased nutrients in the ground

water run-off from the ski field, which is altering the plant ecology further down the mountain. Meanwhile, KCE general manager Peter Till told the August directors meeting that while there were technical difficulties, the sewer power concept was feasible. He said reticulating the sewage, currently re-

moved by truck and helicopter in tanker and drum loads, would give a hy-dro-resource equivalent to 0.1 cumecs dropping 1000 metres. The sewage would be held in holding tanks and released during peak generation periods. The proposal is being taken seriously by the company and it will carry out investigations into the cost and viability of a series of mini-hydro units along the proposed sewage pipeline. Whanganui hydro Meantime King Country Energy is keen to ensure that suitable mini and micro-hydro sites on the tributaries of the Whanganui River are not 'locked away' by the conservation order being sought on the river by the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society. Mr Till said local Forest and Bird spokesperson Keith Chapple was amenable to appropriate sites being named in the proposed conservation order. Because it has not been

possible to fully research all potential sites, King Country Energy believes that limiting future use to named potential mini and micro-hydro sites on the tributaries could result in worthwhile sites as yet unidentified being made unavailable. "We would prefer a situation where all sites could be considered for their potential, subject to our being able to demonstrate little or no effect on the environment." Mr Till said.