By Deirdre Robert
Posted on June 21, 2010. Listed in:
Today marks the start of a critical week for Meridian Energy as it begins its five-day appeal in the Dunedin High Court against the Environment Court’s decision to overturn resource consent for what would be the southern hemisphere’s biggest wind farm.
The faces at Meridian were a lot brighter in 2006 and 2007 when the company was granted resource consent to build the $2 billion, 176-turbine wind farm, also known as Project Hayes, on the Lammermoor Range in Dunedin.
But as reported in the Otago Daily Times, in November last year the Environemnt Court deemed the project as inappropriate for the "outstanding natural landscape" and said it was extraordinary that no cost-benefit analysis had been done on the project.
Meridian's "failure to consider alternatives properly" was another factor towards declining consent the court decision said.
The 630MW windfarm was planned to be big enough to power every home in the South Island, but was opposed by local residents who wanted to protect the tussock-clad ranges from 160m-high turbines and 12m-wide access roads.
Celebrity muscle also made its presence known with several high-profile New Zealanders, including All Black Anton Oliver, artist Grahame Sydney and poet laureate Brian Turner, originally speaking out against the proposed windfarm.
Meridian Spokesman Alan Seay told the NZPA the appeal in the High Court at Dunedin would raise points of law in the Environment Court decision that needed to be examined.
"If that decision was allowed to stand we think it would place some major obstacles in the way of any major infrastructure development," he told NZPA.
"We didn't see that we had any alternative but appeal, not just from the point of view of Project Hayes, but from any big infrastructure project."
Seay maintains that Project Hayes is important to ensure the security of energy supplies in the South Island.
"There's been no major new electricity capacity built in the South Island since the Clyde project back in the '80s, and demand has increased quite considerably in the South Island since then," says Seay.
"We certainly see Project Hayes as making a significant contribution to security of supply in the South Island."
According to New Zealand Wind Energy Association chief executive Fraser Clark, 2009 proved to be a record year for wind energy, including a new quarterly record with wind providing 4.9% of total generation (511 gigawatt-hours) in the December quarter.
“The industry is well on track for providing 20% of New Zealand’s electricity, and this growth will bring further economic benefits and opportunities,” says Clark.
And of course the Celsias team will be sure you let you know the outcome of the five day appeal.
The technical buffs among you might be interested in the the 2006 Preliminary Geotechnical Appraisal Report commissioned by Meridian and carried out by Opus International Consultants Limited.
For general information about wind farms and wind energy, head to the New Zealand Wind Energy Association site.
Image: Flickr - Julia Manzerova
