Matiri Project

The Matiri Project is a run-of-river hydroelectric scheme at Lake Matiri and the Matiri River in the South Island of New Zealand. The project takes water from a series of intake weirs at Lake Matiri and pipes it through a 2.4km long buried pipeline to a power station.[1]

Matiri Project
Intake weir of the hydro scheme
Country	New Zealand
Location	Matiri Valley, Tasman District
Coordinates	41°39′43″S 172°20′4″E
Status	Operational
Commission date	11 December 2020
Owner(s)	Southern Generation Partnership
Operator(s)	Pioneer Energy
Thermal power station
Primary fuel	Hydropower
Power generation
Nameplate capacity	4.6 MW
External links
Commons	Related media on Commons

The project was originally proposed by New Zealand Energy Limited, which applied for resource consent for a 4.6 MW station in August 2008.[2] The scheme was opposed by environmentalists and kayakers some of whom were angry that the resource consents were not notified nationwide.[3] The proposal was approved and it included a concession granted by the Department of Conservation to build structures on public land. Forest and Bird did not see that there would be any conservation gain in giving the approval.[4]

The development rights were purchased by Pioneer Energy in 2014.[1] Construction began in 2018.[5] Construction was delayed by a slip[6] and by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the scheme was finally commissioned in December 2020.[1] Ownership was transferred to the Southern Generation partnership on completion.[1]