Small hydro operators baffled by RMA reforms

David Prentice, the boss of Manawa Energy, is one of many baffled by one line in RMA reform legislation. (Image: Manawa Energy)

Ian Llewellyn

Thu, 09 Mar 2023

Small-scale electricity generators are baffled and worried about why resource management law reforms have singled them out for more onerous consent rules than their larger colleagues.However, it may be that they have been caught up in a desire for more scrutiny of how water is allocated and used.Hydro schemes are usually given a Resource Management Act (RMA) consent for 35 years. This is intended to reflect the long-term nature of the asset and the fact that once they are built, they have largely the same ongoing environmental impact.At issue i...

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