Wind farm decision 'vital for industry'

The round of Turitea wind farm hearings starting today are likely to be the last – and the decision could have major implications for the future of wind generation in New Zealand, an industry expert says.

Mighty River Power's proposal to build a wind farm about 10 kilometres southeast of Palmerston North has drawn debate and delay since it was publicly notified on January 24 last year.

The proposal is before a board of inquiry, which spent seven weeks from last year listening to submissions, before adjourning until today.

In the meantime, Mighty River Power went back to the drawing board and changed its original proposal from one of up to 122 wind turbines to a more modest 104 turbines, including 44 that were moved into `more recessive' locations.

Wind Energy Association chief executive Fraser Clark said it would be surprising if the board allowed any more such delays or changes.

He expected a decision would follow the next two weeks of submissions, as Mighty River Power would probably not want to alter its design much further.

"The more the consent is constrained, then the less flexibility it will give them when it comes to commercial decision-making."

Mr Clark said it was hard to know what implications the decision would hold for the wind energy industry until after its details had been made public.

But should the wind farm not go ahead, it could make investors – both in New Zealand and internationally – wary about future New Zealand projects, Mr Clark said.

"If you were ... looking at this process and saw Mighty River Power had spent probably millions of dollars for no result then you would naturally think; do I want to take this risk?"

Though the big three state-owned energy generators were the major players domestically, Mr Clark said overseas investors were always looking to jump on board wind energy generation projects.

"Wind has been the largest source of newly installed generation in the European Union for the last two years; more than gas, coal and nuclear," he said.

"It's not an alternative energy anymore – it's mainstream."

The worldwide wind energy industry had grown by 25 per cent each year for the past six years, but investors were looking at the United States and China.

Of the 37,000 megawatts of wind energy generation installed worldwide last year; China installed 13,000MW, and the US was responsible for 10,000MW, Mr Clark said.

"And we're just sitting here with all this wind."

The board of inquiry received 225 submissions on Mighty River Power's adjusted proposal. Twenty-six people will be speaking before the board.

- © Fairfax NZ News