Roy wants Foveaux Strait to park some wave farms

JOHN HAWKINS/ The Southland Times

TIDE'S TURN: Invercargill MP Eric Roy has plans for the Foveaux Strait for tidal energy.

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Invercargill MP Eric Roy wants to create a marine energy park in Foveaux Strait to harness tidal energy.

Setting aside an area of the strait for tidal energy development would make it easier for interested parties to overcome resource consent issues, Mr Roy said.

This idea follows on from a 2007 attempt to secure part of an $8 million Marine Energy Deployment Fund to commission studies into wave and tidal energy off the coast of Southland.

However, an application for funding was not lodged.

Mr Roy remains keen to continue to pursue development of tidal energy in the south and the marine park was one way to do it.

There was still enough interest from both state-owned and private companies nationwide to suggest the tidal energy project could get off the ground, Mr Roy said.

"There's more than 17 different companies signed up to the Aotearoa Wave and Tidal Energy Association that are interested in tidal energy generation," he said. "The next step is to go to Venture Southland and find out if it's a goer."

Mr Roy said he had two or three locations in mind for the energy park but specialist advice was needed before finalising anything.

Plans would also have to wait until the Government had finished streamlining the Resource Management Act, in case any consent issues the park was designed to avoid were eliminated by the reform, he said.

The act is scheduled to be back before parliament next month.

A National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research study had shown the waves in Foveaux Strait met the criteria needed to generate electricity from wave energy being consistent, high in energy and with a high wave period, Mr Roy said.

- © Fairfax NZ News