Helen Clark says canning of Aqua does not mean NZ needs to use nuclear power or more coal fired stations
30 March 2004
The Prime Minister has ruled out withdrawing from the Kyoto Protocol to facilitate the development of coal-fired power stations.
There are increasing calls for the Government to seriously consider coal as the solution to the nation's power problems, following the canning of Project Aqua.
Under the Kyoto Protocol on global warming, coal use would attract a carbon tax.
Helen Clark says New Zealand has already ratified the Protocol and that's that.
She says the Government sees Kyoto as a way of ensuring best practice in energy efficiency and renewable and clean technologies, which is the way of the future.
Miss Clark says higher power prices and uncertainty of future supply is not enough to convince the Government that it should be looking at alternatives like nuclear energy.
She says there is an abundance of energy sources available which means there is no need to contemplate a nuclear powered future.
The Government says it resisted using its powers to direct Meridian Energy to carry on with Project Aqua.
One of the state owned enterprise's shareholding ministers, Mark Burton, says the Government accepted Meridian made a decision on the basis of its commercial judgement.
He says by intervening, the Government would have sent a message that it did not agree with the board's judgement.
Mr Burton says he does not interpret the SOE's comments about the Resource Management Act as criticism of the law.
The pulling of the plug on Project Aqua should not be seen as a disaster according to Contact Energy.
The Waitaki River power project's collapse has prompted fears of a power crisis.
Contact spokesman Patrick Smellie says New Zealand still has plenty of options to meet its future energy needs.
He says the demise of Project Aqua has thrown in to sharp focus the environmental and economic cost of those options.
He believes Project Aqua will not be the only power scheme to be beaten by red tape.
Contact Energy sympathises with Meridian Energy.
Spokesman Patrick Smellie says the Resource Management Act makes things too difficult for companies to contemplate large energy projects.
He says there needs to be more of a national interest test available in the RMA so there can be a balance between the local and national interests of a particular project.
