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There are a number of issues that companies and industry groups need to be concerned about over the court decision on Meridian Energy’s Project Hayes, says GEORGE KELCHER, general manager of Road Metals and IoQ past president.
Meridian originally lodged a consent application with the Central Otago District Council during July 2006. In October 2007 the consent was granted for this project along with consent from the Otago Regional Council. This was subsequently appealed and the appeal hearing started in May 2008 and, due to delays and recesses, did not end until February 2009. A decision on the appeal was not released until November 6, 2009 when the application was declined. I believe that there are a number of issues that New Zealand companies and industry groups need to consider with this decision. The wind farm project was applied for after the proceeding project – Project Aqua – was scrapped after the Environment Court failed to grant a ‘water take’ consent for the project. This was after Meridian Energy had invested around $95 million in the project; effectively wasted money. Meridian has also invested $8 to $10 million in Project Hayes to date, along with a lot of other investment from other parties with an interest in the project (the generator is spending more on appeal). This is most likely New Zealand’s largest single project in a period when central Government is supposedly pushing for increased infrastructure spending to keep the economy going during a recession. The time taken and money invested by all parties has effectively got nothing to show for it. This decision will have far reaching consequences on any other major project applications as case law now seems to have a major affect on the original Resource Management Act (RMA). We now have the original RMA legislation, new interpretations due to case law decisions, and a raft of original district plans and proposed new plans – having a bearing on any consent decision. New Zealand has lost its way in the middle of all this and now struggles to get major projects off the ground in a timely and cost efficient manner. If these circumstances had been in place during the years that our early infrastructure was being built, then we would have struggled to have main highways, railways, airports and all the other amenities that are now enjoyed by all. The National Government campaigned on reforming the RMA and up to now has only come up with some minor changes. This may well be the time that the Government needs to stand up and be counted, by taking this project on board as one of national importance. It has been well documented that there will be power shortages in the not too distant future and unless there is some common sense applied to this subject major projects to secure future generation will have no hope of getting off the ground. I believe that industry organisations across all affected parties should make a combined attempt to put significant pressure on all areas of local and central government to ensure that New Zealand has sufficient infrastructure in place over the next 20 years. Imagine now if the Upper Waitaki projects and the Clyde Dam had not been built when they were; we would now be in dire straits. Meridian Energy is appealing the decision to the High Court on points of law. This is a time for all our industries and associated parties to make a noise and to lobby the appropriate people to get some common sense and investment back into the economy. These decisions are not just related to the one at hand, as every decision sets yet another precedent for any hearings and decisions at a later date. Effectively the bar is getting set higher and higher and soon it may be all but impossible to get anything built no matter how high the urgency level. It is imperative that the country stays ahead of renewable power supply so when opportunities arise for industry and manufacturing we are in a position to say ‘yes, we can do it and there is energy available’. We wish to increase the added value to our export industry and to do this we need to ensure that we have the other ingredients in place, including reasonably priced electricity. During the past year Road Metals Co was asked to limit electricity usage at our Christchurch Quarry during peak electricity load periods. This was for various reasons including transmission line load, supplier peak power costs and general availability. This was detrimental to our monthly production, but we wanted to play our part for the betterment of the wider community. This practice is not a long-term option for any business. TransPower has plans to spend around $5 billion over the next five to six years in improving and expanding the country’s transmission systems so that electricity can get to where it is needed. Let us all make sure that the generation companies can also get the go ahead and consent to build the projects that will be required over the next 20 years. Please all make an effort to lobby people and organisations that can make a difference for the future.
Q&M Vol.7 No.1 February-March 2010 |
Meridian Energy’s 176 tower wind farm proposed for Otago was declined by the Environment Court late last year following an appeal hearing.