Election 2020: Ngāi Tahu pushes for green hydrogen transition at Tiwai Point

Monday, 28 September 2020

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern at the Murihiku Marae in Invercargill with, from left, Peggy Peek, and Winsome Skerrett as they listen to Ngai Tahu kaumatua Sir Tipene O'Regan speak about transitioning Tiwai Point into green hydrogen production.

Ngāi Tahu wants the Tiwai Point to be developed into a green hydrogen plant with kaumatua Sir Tipene O'Regan describing it as a ‘’no-brainer’’.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern visited the Murihiku Marae in Invercargill on Monday morning where O'Regan spoke to a gathering via video link about the desire to transition Tiwai into a green hydrogen plant.

Rio Tinto has signal its intentions to close the smelter in New Zealand next year if it can not get a better power deal.

Various political parties have released policies that push for Tiwai closure to, at the very least ,be delayed.

Ngai Tahu kaumatua Sir Tipene O'Regan speaks via video-link to a gathering at Murihiku Marae about transitioning Tiwai Point into green hydrogen production.

* Tiwai crisis needs short term as well as long term solutions

* Tiwai Point closure: benefits and fishhooks

O’Reagan said while he supported a transition process for Southland’s economy he asked “transition to what?’’.

He pushed the case for a green hydrogen plant to utilise the power generated at Manapouri.

He said the primary reason for wanting to convert Tiwai into green hydrogen was to maintain substantial overseas exports through the energy produced.

“The perfect place to do that is Awarua where we already have people and facilities,’’ O’Reagan said.

“Whilst the surplus [of energy] can be dropped off into the system, exporting electricity out of Manapouri into the big mass market in New Zealand, is going to help the big washing machine of GDP, it will do nothing to enhance our export capacity.’’

He believed a move towards sustainable and renewable green hydrogen was a “no-brainer”.

O’Reagan said Ngāi Tahu had invested heavily in Southland and wanted to continue to do so.

“The ability to attend to the nation's emissions in a renewable clean technology, which is already largely structurally in place, makes extraordinarily good sense.’’

Speaking to Stuff later on Monday, Ardern said she was excited by the prospects of hydrogen, which was a very realistic possibility for Tiwai.

“We now have an entire hydrogen plan as a Government, we already have our first hydrogen operation in New Zealand will be opening next year.

“We are creating a freight link for refuelling freight in New Zealand – you’ve got to create a market domestically, and we are doing that.’’