Deborah Coddington: Heavenly view threatened by winds of change

I have become a Nimfy, and that is not an abbreviation of a sexist word for which there does not appear to be a male equivalent, but an acronym for Not In My Front Yard.

Meridian Energy, the state-owned energy company, wants to build a wind farm in front of our vineyard, atop a beautiful range known for centuries as Nga Waka a Kupe - the canoes of Kupe.

We designed our house so every angle viewed these upturned waka, not knowing the spiritual and sacred history of these three hills. Now, thanks to published historian Roberta McIntyre, we have learned this was once known as Kehemene, presided over by Hamuera Tamahau Mahupuku, friend of Premier Richard Seddon, and host to Governor Lord Ranfurly, Catholic Archbishop Redwood and Admiral Pearson when they attended the opening of the Aotea-Te-Waipounamu building for the Maori Parliament at nearby Papawai in Greytown. And Meridian wants to build a wind farm here.

But this won't just affect our front yard. With 45 turbines twice as high as the Auckland Harbour Bridge, and blades twice as large as the Westpac Stadium, sited 8km from the town square, this could be the end of Martinborough as we know and love it. The tourism industry our economy depends on - wine festivals, outdoor concerts, homestays, weddings, cycling - will they continue with noise from these turbines?

Martinborough folk don't know much about this wind farm because Meridian is so secretive. No consents have yet been lodged. Last week UMR Research came to town and paid participants $60 a pop to answer questions about the town's lifestyle, attractions, and what trade-offs would we like if a wind farm went ahead.

Boss of Palliser Estate Wines Richard Riddiford, otherwise known as a bloody good chap, whose great-great-great-great-grandfather walked here a while back and started farming, heard about this wind farm last year when earthworks started behind his house.

Richard formed an incorporated society to fight the wind farm. Then he sat down to lunch with Meridian CEO Tim Lusk, who also lives in Martinborough and, just to complicate the issue, also happens to be a bloody good chap. Tim and his family, like the Riddiford family, support Martinborough's economy and small town values.

This week, Richard's Pure Martinborough held a public meeting in our town hall. We heard a real journalist, Bill Ralston, might be coming, so ensured good turnout. Gosh, maybe Meridian's posterboy, Jeremy Wells might even turn up. The hall was packed, but Ralston was a no-show and Jeremy was off chasing birds.

No matter. Star of the night was Rob Morrison, co-founder of the Copenhagen Climate Council, and not just because of his stellar background, but also because he is a Martinborough resident and his presence demonstrated the eclectic makeup of our population.

For instance, who knew the ratepayer greeting us at door, taking signatures, was once a diplomat, Head of the Prime Minister's Department, and Secretary of Defence Gerald Hensley? Another distinguished resident, Vice-Admiral Sir Somerford Teagle KBE might also have been in the audience.

But back to Rob Morrison, who's on the Copenhagen Council with the likes of Lord Michael Jay, Sir Richard Branson, working for a treaty to replace the Kyoto Protocol. He spoke for most of us, not opposed to wind farms per se, or Meridian Energy, when he said Nga Waka a Kupe, for Meridian, is not a "must have". Generating energy from wind costs twice as much as the price received. You can't store wind energy (yet). It won't help with winter peaks in demand. It won't replace coal. It won't mean cheaper power. It means more expensive bills.

But over-arching all that, said wise Rob, New Zealand already has numerous choices to build generation capacity to meet future electricity demand.

We're focused on generating more energy. Why don't we start thinking seriously about using less? Meanwhile, Meridian and other power companies, stop being sneaky, consult, and build your farms far away from people.

- HERALD ON SUNDAY