A Christchurch company has been given the go ahead to install an underwater turbine off Wellington's south coast to generate electricity from the Cook Strait tides.

Greater Wellington Council has granted consent for a trial which is the first step in developing technology that Neptune Power believes could eventually satisfy a big part of the country's energy needs.

The trial turbine, just south of Sinclair Head, should be up and running within 18 months and will power 400 Wellington houses through Vector's Wellington grid.

David Beach from Neptune Power says the aim of the trial is to run the turbine in a real situation and establish its ecological impact.

The trial could eventually make tidal power a big player in the government's plan to have 90% of New Zealand's energy coming from renewable sources by 2025.

Source: One News 

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