Why it's best for Govt not to be in business.

It's the end of a legend that never got started, a legend that goes back to the Muldoon "Think Big" era.

Marsden B power station sold

NBR article by Peter Gill | Thursday March 26 2009 - 10:31am

The massive Marsden B Power station south of Whangarei has been sold without ever turning out a single watt of electricity.

Built as part of "Think Big" in the early 1970s, the oil-fired station was immediately mothballed largely because of the oil crisis of that decade. It was never fired up in anger.

Mighty River Power wound up acquiring the station as part of the electricity reforms in 1999.

Mighty River's plan was to convert the plant to run on coal, being a less expensive fuel than oil. But the company was forced to drop those plans after 4000 submissions were made by locals who were vehemently opposed to the idea. Left with something of a white elephant, Mighty River decided to look for a buyer who would dismantle it and take it overseas.

Mighty River has confirmed that a buyer has been found but says it is not yet in a position to announce any details.

But locals say they've heard that the buyer is from India and plans to re-establish the station there.