Wind farms battle stormy opposition

The Wind Energy Association has been on the defensive this year after a couple of major wind farm projects were stymied or put under fire from critics.

Although the country boasts one of the world’s best wind resources and its first wind turbine (225kW) started spinning in Brooklyn, Wellington more than 14 years ago, wind power makes up only 1.5 percent of our electricity generation. This is a level that sees us lagging behind developing nations such as India, says association chief Fraser Clark.

And although 2007 has been a record year for the installation of new wind energy capacity, most projects were compromise by consents that reduced their number of turbines and energy intensity.

The Motorimu Wind Farm project, a proposal by Allco Wind Energy NZ to construct a wind farm in the Manawatu region with 127 turbines (the largest wind farm in New Zealand), was knocked back to 52 turbines by Palmerston North joint local authority commissioners. Allco was appealing the decision at the time of print.

Community opposition to Meridian Energy’s proposed Project Hayes wind farm in the Lammermoor Range near Dunedin drew a media circus after All Black hooker Anton Oliver and poet laureate Brian Turner got involved. The design features 176 turbines generating 630 megawatts, enough to power every home in the South Island (the largest wind farm in the world currently produces 735 megawatts).

The rugby heavyweight delivered a 75-minute, 21-page submission against the proposal before a public gallery at a resource consents hearing in Alexandra. He claimed the proposal was part of a politically-motivated rush to appear green, with little real pay-off for the country. Project Hayes was about profit versus carbon credits, he reportedly told the hearing.

“The more I have looked into it, the more this has seemed to me tantamount to a government-sanctioned corporate rort.”

Clark dismisses Oliver’s views. His submission lacked truth or substance and the public are unlikely to be swayed from supporting wind farms by such attacks, he says.

On a more positive note, wind energy output has almost doubled this year as projects have come online, says Clark.

“This year will see New Zealand’s installed wind energy capacity reach 321 megawatts (MW), or enough to supply over 140,000 households and an increase of over 150MW from 2006,” he says. “A further 46MW is expected to be completed next year.”

Following a favourable decision in the Environment Court, Meridian’s West Wind Project near Makara in Wellington is going ahead with 66 turbines producing enough electricity (140 MW) for more than 100,000 homes.

A number of further wind energy projects ranging in scale from 1.8MW to 630MW are currently at various stages of the consenting and development process across the country, says Clark.