Lake Onslow Pumped Hydro Option: Feasibility Analysis

Providing for our energy needs from renewable resources brings with it a need to find suitable back-up for times when water levels in our hydro-lakes are low, or it is calm or cloudy. New Zealand has made commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions under the Paris Agreement, and the current Labour Government made a commitment in 2020 to investigate dry year storage solutions to maximise renewable electricity in order to provide a pathway to 100% renewable electricity in New Zealand.

Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) is delivering the New Zealand Battery Project, which has been set up to explore ways to solve the ‘dry year’ problem in New Zealand without using fossil fuels and supporting a pathway to 100% renewable electricity generation.

A potential pumped hydro storage scheme at Lake Onslow, Central Otago, is one of the options that MBIE is investigating to solve New Zealand’s ‘dry year’ problem. Investigating this potential solution provided Boffa Miskell with a unique opportunity to contribute to a wider understanding of the implications that the Lake Onslow option may have on the environment.

Client

Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE)

Location

Otago

Project team

Ken Gimblett
Tanya Blakely
Chris Ferguson
Mark Brown
Deborah Rowe
Bronté Linkhorn
Christine Hetherington
Mapihi Martin-Paul
Scott Hooson
Brian McAuslan

Worked with

Mott McDonald

Project date

2021 - 2022

Phase 1 of the NZ Battery Project focussed on evaluating the viability of pumped hydro schemes of various sizes at Lake Onslow, and also investigated other options that could contribute to ‘solving’ the dry year problem.

Boffa Miskell was engaged by MBIE as part of the consortium Te Rōpu Matatau to lead and deliver environmental services to the investigation. We were responsible for:

  • Securing the necessary consents and authorisations to enable geotechnical investigations to proceed;
  • Preparing a consenting strategy for the proposed scheme; and
  • Preparing an environmental impact statement of the potential environmental impacts arising from the construction and operation of the proposed scheme.

We worked closely with MBIE and our consortium partners to deliver comprehensive advice on the environmental feasibility of the Lake Onslow pumped hydro storage option. This involved working closely with stakeholders such as Central Otago District Council, Otago Regional Council, the Department of Conservation, Aukaha, and a range of other scientific and environmental service providers.

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