W
ater at height is the best battery
there is. We’ve known this for
a long time, of course, and the
prime sites have long been dammed. But
since the Save Manapouri campaign,
increasing resistance to major dam
proposals has seen them permanently
shelved (although a cynic might point
out that the protesters all expect to
go home and indulge in unfettered
electricity consumption).
The truth is that you cannot generate
electricity without making some impact;
the trick is to minimize that impact.
Micro-hydro and pumped storage have
the potential to tick that box.Water: it’s easy
If we start from the premise that water is
less problematic than mining or recycling
lead, nickel, or cadmium, the questions
boil down to: how big, and where?
Micro-hydro answers this with: small
and close. Pumped storage can be of anyMICRO-HYDRO IS THE IDEAL LOW IMPACT
WAY TO HARNESS WATER
By Murray Grimwood
Photographs: Murray Grimwood
Off the grid
MAKING
WAT E R
WORK FOR
YOU
An undershot waterwheel — suited to high
flow / low head situations