Lake Onslow would be a hydropower project like no other in New Zealand.
An earth dam stretching one or two kilometres would be built to a seal off a natural rock basin 700 metres above sea level, which would be filled with pumped water from Lake Roxburgh to create a larger artificial lake.
Depending on its final dimensions, the hydro scheme would be capable of storing between 5 and 8 terawatt-hours of electricity in the form of water, effectively acting as a giant battery back-up for the country’s power supply.
PARLIAMENT TV
Energy Minister Megan Woods told Parliament last month she was taking the situation in the electricity market very seriously.