Bechtel Engineers At Marsden Point

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30560, 1 October 1964, Page 6

Bechtel Engineers At Marsden Point

(New Zealand Press Association) WHANGAREI, September 29. Bechtel Corporation engineers have already visited Marsden Point, the site of the 240,000 kilowatt: oil fired thermal power station approved in principle by the Government.

The Auckland district engineer of the Electricity Department (Mr H. E. Evans) said by telephone today that after their preliminary survey the representatives of the consultants for the project would prepare a report for the Government on the practicability and cost of putting up the station. The visitors had inet oil refinery and Whangarei Harbour Board people, and would be involved also with the Whangarei County Council. He had no comment to make on what land would be involved and said that where the station was put would depend on engineering considerations. It was hoped to place it at a distance from the refinery which would. permit fuel oil to be pumped by pipeline direct to the station from the refinery. Cooling water in large quantities would be required from the sea, and “quite a quantity of fresh water for the boilers.”' Men “in the hundreds” would be required to build the station. Mr Evans said major factors involved in planning for such a power station included the type of service it was to give—continuous power, power to meet peak loading, or power to fill the gap left when grave shortages of

water were seriously reducing supplies from hydro-elec-tric sources. It would be some months before the report would reach the Government from the experts.