Two Tararua district wind farm proposals opposed by local residents

This wind farm at Te Apiti is an example of the wind farm proposed to be placed near Pahiatua. Photo / Tamara Eastwood

Two local communities are opposing proposals to build wind farms.

One is awaiting recommendations from councils before a decision is made to go before the Environment Court while the second has yet to apply for consents under requirements of the Resource Management Act.

Meridian Energy is proposing a wind farm to be built at Mt Munro, near the community of Hastwell, about 5km from Eketahuna.

However, many of the homeowners at Hastwell are not happy at the thought of wind turbines being placed less than 1km from many residences.

A resource consent application was lodged for the project which is proposed to be on land “approximately bound by Falkner Road to the west, Kaipororo Road and State Highway 2 to the southwest, Old Coach Road to the north, Hall Road and Smiths Line to the east and Opaki-Kaipororo Road and Coach Road South to the south”, according to the application.

Submissions opened in November.

Resident John Maxwell has been helping members of the community with their submissions.

He says he delivered several to Horizons Regional Council the day before the deadline in December.

Several submissions were also made electronically.

John says the report from Horizons was that there were 73 submissions, 63 of which opposed the wind farm.

In a submission, the Hastwell/Mt Munro Protection Society stated several reasons for their opposition including road safety, noise, ecology, impact on farming, light pollution and effects on Eketahuna township.

John says it is now a matter of waiting for the outcome.

In the meantime he is busy “speechcrafting about turbine noise” and is planning to buy equipment and “get technical”.

A Meridian Energy spokesperson says district and regional councils are currently considering the application and preparing a recommendations report, due next month.

“Meridian will then consider whether to formally proceed to the Environment Court.”

In the meantime, another group of residents wants more information on a proposed wind farm near Pahiatua.

The wind farm will potentially be located not far from the Turitea one.

The company behind the project is Yinson Renewables, the business unit of a Malaysian-based multinational.

New Zealand engineering and infrastructure advisory company Aurecon was engaged to provide project management.

A community meeting was held in October last year, but one of the residents has been asking for more details about the location.

Gareth Bestor had estimated the position using Google Earth, based on a map shared at the October meeting.

Aurecon recently made some changes to the proposal based on feedback but Gareth believes while the updated layout improves the situation for some residents, it worsens it for others.

He also questions the impact on Ballance Township.

A letter sent to residents by the project team noted the proposed wind farm would need to be consented under district and regional plan rules and the consent application would be prepared over the next few months.

The Bush Telegraph questioned the project team on the median distance between turbines and residences.

It responded that this was difficult to quantify because of a number of factors. When asked what it would be in a straight line, barring other factors, the team advised it would be about 1.14km between a turbine and the closest dwelling.

Gareth says Palmerston North City Council imposed a 1.5km setback because of Turitea farm, but that setback was not universal.

He says other energy companies were using a New Zealand standard which gives them a lot more wriggle room.

Another community event is being planned for March.