Today Mighty River Power has dumped its controversial plan to convert the Marsden B power station to coal, in a victory for campaigners, the local community and climate change. Greens Co-Leader Jeanette Fitzsimons congratulated Mighty River Power on finally seeing the light saying “the last thing New Zealand needs is more coal burning electricity stations. It is time to focus on developing renewable sources such as wind power and increasing efficiency to cut down on use.”
Marsden B which would have been the first coal fired power station built in New Zealand in 25 years and would have emitted around 2 million tonnes of climate-change-causing carbon dioxide can now be placed along with the on-hold gas fired plant Otahuhu C, as a victory for renewable electricity generation. Marsden B would have been a giant leap backwards and now a commitment needs to be made for no new coal fired generation in New Zealand
Time to open a bottle of organic champagne!