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Onekaka Power Station

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Onekaka Power Station

Onekaka Power Station is a small hydro-electric generating station on the Onekaka River, in Golden Bay / Mohua, New Zealand. The first power station on the river was built in 1928–29 to provide power for the Onekaka Ironworks. The original scheme included a concrete arch dam 10 m (33 ft) high, a pen

stock 1.25 km (0.78 mi) long, and a powerhouse containing a Boving pelton wheel, rated at 250 kW. After the Onekaka Ironworks closed, the power station remained in operation from 1937 to 1944, generating electricity for the Golden Bay area. The scheme was abandoned in the 1950s. A group of local hydro enthusiasts began work on a rebuild in 1995, and formed a company Onekaka Energy Ltd to manage the re-development and operation of the scheme. Up to 500 litres (110 imp gal; 130 US gal) a second would be diverted from the Onekaka River, and opponents expressed concerns that a reduction in minimum flows in the river would affect the native fish, the shortjaw kōkopu. The new scheme uses the historic concrete arch dam, but a new penstock was built on the same alignment as the original. The new penstock extends a further 180 m (200 yd), to a new powerhouse downstream from the original site. New...

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