New wind farm planned for Tararua Ranges

Australian company Energreen Wind plans to build the second-largest wind farm in the Tararua Ranges.

If approved, the 129 turbines would be spread over four properties along the Tararua foothills near Palmerston North, the Manawatu Standard reported today.

Energreen Wind has wind farms worldwide, but was now concentrating on Australia and New Zealand, technical director Bernhard Voll told the newspaper from Sydney yesterday.

It would be the company's first wind farm in New Zealand and Manawatu's fifth.

The company would sell the electricity generated by the wind farm to one of the retail power companies in New Zealand.

Mr Voll said he chose Manawatu because it was one of the windiest places in the world.

"We have really good wind, good grid connection and we have fantastic land and good people in New Zealand. That's why I went there."

Levin Environments by Design planning consultant Clare Barton said the turbines would be 55m high and, with the blade on top, would reach about 81m.

She said the turbines would produce enough energy annually to power 40,000 homes.

Mrs Barton said the proposal was in the early stages of the consultation process, but lodging the resource consent application was "not far down the track".

- NZPA