James Cameron, senior consultant with Aurecon, talked about the timeline of the project at the information evening on the proposed wind farm near Pahiatua.
James Cameron, senior consultant with Aurecon, talked about the timeline of the project at the information evening on the proposed wind farm near Pahiatua.
“You’re not listening to us,” was the general outcry at an information evening held for residents affected by the proposed Makomako windfarm.
Yinson Renewables, a multi-national company, based in Malaysia, is behind the proposal and a design, engineering and advisory company, Aurecon, is managing the project.
The Turitea South windfarm near Palmerston North. The windfarm proposed by Yinson Renewables could be located somewhere near the Turitea facility.
But the potential location of the windfarm, not far from the Turitea windfarm on the Tararua Range and about 10km (driving distance) from Pahiatua township, has upset many of the landowners who say that from what they’ve seen of the plans so far, they are too close and the turbines, potentially 200m, making them taller than those at Turitea, are too tall.
Specialists involved with the project spoke in a presentation discussing project timelines, the consent process and whether it would be fast-tracked, ecological surveys, and visual and auditory impacts.
Trevor Nash, country manager at Yinson Renewables, spoke briefly about the company's goal.
More than 100 people attended the meeting, which, while open to anyone was aimed at landowners and those affected by the proposal. Right from the beginning those attending made it very clear they were not happy, raising questions about communication, a lack of information and concerns about the multi-national and those paid to consult on the project.
A drop-in evening was held in October last year but some residents queried why the company had asked for feedback but hadn’t invited people to the only information session held.
Dave Rennison, manager of environment and planning at Aurecon, talked about the consents process.
James Cameron, a senior consultant with Aurecon, said during the presentation that in the beginning they wouldn’t know much about the project at all.
He said as they proceeded down the timeline, they would learn more about the planned location’s ecology, the wind’s acoustics and how strong it is.
“The project will twist and turn in size and layout and all these things change as you learn more.”
Cameron said at some point in the project they would come out and talk to the community.
“If we come out right at the beginning when we don’t know much, people ask questions like how big is it, what will it look like, we literally don’t know because we haven’t done much work.”
Miklin Halstead, an acoustic consultant with Marshall Day Acoustics, talked about acoustic effects of the windfarm.
One of the residents objecting to the windfarm asked repeatedly why those who would potentially be affected by the proposal were not invited to the drop-in session in October last year and was told it had been advertised in the Bush Telegraph and via Facebook.
Cameron reiterated that in the beginning, they did not have the information to be able to answer questions.
He said they started with an idea of what they thought might work, but there were different types of reports and assessments, such as ecological assessments, or there might be something of archaeological significance.
“There’s a number of things that have an impact on design and as it works its way through and we get more information, the design does change.”
Cameron said the alternative to holding a drop-in event was to come out much later and advise of the project via the Environmental Protection Authority website, which would then give community members a chance to make submissions.
Shannon Bray, a landscape architect with Wayfinder, says his job is to understand where people will see the windfarm, how they will see it and what its impact might be.
Nyree Fea, a senior ecologist with Wildland Consultants, did some ecological studies of the area and spoke on her findings.
The design of the project had changed due to feedback from the October meeting, including the location of two turbines.
The specialists told the crowd a whole range of factors would have informed those changes, such as getting to the location, geotechnical issues, noise, visual proximity to neighbours and community feedback.
Residents were told that efforts were made to communicate but “if it has missed the mark, I’m sorry about that”.
A resident said he had emailed several times asking for information but hadn’t received any responses.
He was assured by the communications and engagement team that they had responded to his emails.
Others within the community brought up issues with noise, despite being shown that the decibel level was within New Zealand standards – that being 40db.
One homeowner asked about the possibility of infrasound – a low-frequency sound that people can’t hear but could still travel up to 5km.
She asked what soil testing had been undertaken in relation to infrasound, referring to subsidence due to vibration.
She was told that there wouldn’t be enough vibration from the turbines and there had been research projects looking into the issue.
Lorraine Stephenson, who had acted as a commissioner on a previous windfarm project, came along to speak up for both the community and for Rangitane.
“My concern is why here?,” she said, adding that a percentage of Yinson’s business was in gas and oil.
“We know that we have to have this energy. In Tararua [District] we know why we have it here, we’ve got the best wind in the world that goes through Tararua and Ruahine.
“I just can’t understand why Yinson is interested in coming here with another type of turbine that we’re not used to and it’s not your core business.”
She said she was concerned about where it was going to go for the community.
“When does it stop? When does the community have a say on when enough is enough?”
MP Mike Butterick is aware of the community's concerns.
MP for Wairarapa Mike Butterick was at the meeting and said it was good to hear directly from residents.
“I have heard from a number of people over recent months and weeks and I am certainly aware of their concerns.
“It was great to see so many from the community there and that really does highlight the level of anxiety and the desire for engagement.”
Butterick said it was disclosed at the meeting that a likely application was imminent in the next week or two and this consent application would be heard on the previous Government’s fast-track process legislation.
“The current Government is intending to introduce its own Fast Track Bill and this is now open for submissions to the Environment Select Committee with a closing date of 19 April 2024 and I strongly encourage people to submit.”
