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PRIMRE/Databases/Projects Database/Projects/Kaipara Harbour Tidal Project
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Kaipara Harbour Tidal Project
Crest Energy Limited was granted consent to construct a marine tidal turbine power station in the mouth of the Kaipara Harbour in Northland, northern New Zealand. The project comprised of up to 200 completely submerged marine tidal turbines with a maximum generating capacity of around 200MW, located invisibly underwater.
When fully implemented, it was estimated that this project would generate sufficient power for an area from Albany to Cape Reinga by harnessing the energy of the tide.
The harbour is one of the largest harbours in the world covering 900 square kilometres with 3,000 kilometres of shoreline. The Kaipara extends for 60 kilometres north to south.
In March 2011, the project was approved to build up to 200 turbines. Consent was granted for an initial stage of just 3 turbines. After periods of monitoring the impact of the first three tidal turbines on marine wildlife, including snapper, if they do not adversely impact the harbour, Crest Energy can add another 17 turbines.
In November 2013, the project was put on hold and has not been taken up since.
Additional Information
Project Status
Is the project actively being planned or is deployed in the water (active)? Or was the project canceled or completed (inactive)?
Inactive
Project Life Cycle
Project Progress through life cycle:
- Planned: Project has identified a deployment location and is preparing for deployment
- Operational: Project is deployed in the water and is active
- Completed: Project was previously deployed in the water
- Decommissioned: Installation has been fully removed in accordance with regulations
- Canceled: Project was canceled before being deployed in the water
Canceled
Max Rated Power Capacity
The maximum amount of electricity that can be produced by project, based on available resources and device nameplate capacity.
200 MW
Project Duration
2006 - 2013
Energy Resource
- Tidal
Project Scale
Full-scale
Number of Devices
200
Grid Connectivity
Grid Connected
Waterbody
Kaipara Harbour
Site Characteristics
Geographic characterization for the project location:
- Open Ocean: Main body of ocean, not enclosed or partially enclosed by land
- Coastal: Open water near the coast, spanning between land and shelf boundary
- Enclosed Bay: water that is partially surrounded by land, with a mouth open to larger water
- Constricted Channel: A channel where water flows quickly due to narrowing by the land
- River: Water flowing from land towards a larger body of water
Enclosed Bay
Country
New Zealand
Last Modified
10 June 2025
This Project has the following MRE Devices
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Citation Formats
“Kaipara Harbour Tidal Project.” Marine Energy Projects Database: Projects, PRIMRE, United States Department of Energy, https://openei.org/wiki/PRIMRE/Databases/Projects_Database/Projects/Kaipara_Harbour_Tidal_Project. Accessed <day> <monthRoman> <year>.
Marine Energy Projects Database: Projects. <year>. "Kaipara Harbour Tidal Project." Accessed <monthRoman> <day>, <year>. https://openei.org/wiki/PRIMRE/Databases/Projects_Database/Projects/Kaipara_Harbour_Tidal_Project.
