Ambitious proposals for surplus electricity once Tiwai closes

"Tiwai Point from Bluff Hill.jpg" by Phillip Capper is licensed under CC BY 2.0

First published by RNZ.

Kathryn Ryan speaks with two researchers at the MacDiarmid Institute about how electricity from the Manapouri power station could be used once the Tiwai Point aluminum smelter is shut down by Rio Tinto next August.

The smelter currently uses 13 per cent of the country's power production.

Professors Sally Brooker and David Williams say there are many options including manufacturing silicon solar panels, turning electricity into hydrogen and developing energy storage.

August 10, 2020