Daily review 10/09/2025

15 comments on “Daily review 10/09/2025”

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  1. 1

    Got to give credit to Mercury Energy for going all-in with renewables.

    There was Kaiwera Downs wind farm, Kaiwaikawe wind farm, Turitea Wind Farm, and Nga Tamariki Geothermal.

    Now this one getting its skates on in partnership with local Taupo iwi:

    First supercritical geothermal site chosen at Rotokawa near Taupō – NZ Herald

    A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Tauhara North No.2 Trust, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, and Mercury NZ which operates the Rotokawa geothermal power station, to explore the potential of supercritical geothermal energy at the site.

    And then next one they have ready to go with a further 50 turbines is Mahinerangi which is going to be nearly as big as Palmerston North's Turitea.

    And now let me hold my nose and accept that the new Taupo geothermal exploration one was with central government funding from Shane Jones.

    1. 1.1

      Zero numbers on what energy this exploratory venture might produce. Meanwhile, Lake Onslow:

      It would, in effect, turn the South Island rock basin into a massive 5000 gigawatt rechargeable battery to power the country during periods of little rainfall or wind, ending its dependence on gas and coal generation.

      https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/122319866/4-billion-lake-onslow-pumped-hydro-scheme-could-tip-electricity-market-on-head

      So much power it left the industry shocked. Pity the poor consumer.

      1. 1.1.1

        Lake Onslow for $17 billion Mutton….now $20 billion doubtless.

        Meanwhile over the last 5 years solar with attached grid battery storage has got much cheaper and technologically better. The power can be generated closer to where it is needed. No contest.

        1. 1.1.1.1

          I don't know where the $20 billion figure comes from because you haven't linked to it.

          My point was that Lake Onslow terrified the private sector because they could only dream of providing such a robust and resilient asset to the people of NZ.

          Some call it socialism, I call it responsible and visionary governance.

          1. 1.1.1.1.1

            Fair points Mutton.

            I'm all for state owned power facilities. I have posted several times on TS saying that Labour (if elected) should set up a SOE called KikiSolar and invest some serious money immediately in this. NZ's solar take up has been pathetic to date.

            Here is a link from 2023 saying Onslow would cost almost $16 billion, so sorry I was slightly out.

            https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/486111/lake-onslow-pumped-hydro-scheme-cost-estimate-rises-almost-300-percent-to-15-point-7b

        1. 1.1.2.1

          Onslow is far better than littering the country with more batteries, build it once build it right it'll last for many years

  2. 3

    Can't accept this outrage about the Marokopa documentary while multiple news outlets continually post images of the kids and the campsite and the quad bike 24/7.

    Considering the original intent of the documentary, it would handle the whole saga a lot more responsibly than NZ Police and short form broadcast media ever would.

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