Northland Best Site For Atomic Station

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30919, 27 November 1965, Page 3

Northland Best Site For Atomic Station

(New Zealand Press Association) AUCKLAND, November 26. The location of New Zealand’s first nuclear power station on good farming land would be unavoidable but would have very little effect on farming, the general manager of the Electricity Department, Mr E. B. McKenzie, has told the Auckland Federated Farmers. •>

In a letter received today he said that owners would receive compensation and the loss of production would be negligible compared with the value to the national economy ' of a nuclear power station. Two sites were being considered on Kaipara harbour—but the possibility of sites on the east coast had not been ignored. s “Investigation work is only t just beginning and there is i

much to be done," said Mr McKenzie. Northland was obvious choice for the siting of the plant. It was close to the biggest consumer, Auckland, and was preferable to the south for transmission reasons. “The energy output of the proposed station will be in the order of 7000 million watts of electricity a year," said Mr McKenzie. “This is about the same as the consumption of the whole of the North Island in the year 1964-65.”