Turbine proposal fails to impress

Mighty River Power's planned positioning of some turbines at Turitea Wind Farm flies in the face of Palmerston North City Council's efforts to keep them away from houses, a board of inquiry has been told.

The power company's 121-turbine proposal failed to meet the "spirit and intent" of the city council's 2006 decision that made a wind farm at Turitea possible, city lawyer John Maassen said.

Mighty River Power relied on the council changing the purpose of Turitea Reserve to enable renewable electricity generation there, then produced a scheme "completely at odds" with the council's expectations, Mr Maassen said.

Mighty River Power rejected the notion its proposal was out of sync with expectations.

In the most explosive day of the hearing so far, Mr Maassen suggested to Turitea Wind Farm project manager Mark Henry yesterday that the placement of some turbines outside the reserve was cynical.

The council had made it clear that part of Turitea Reserve was a no-go zone, because of concerns about visual effects, but Mighty River Power then proposed to put turbines on private land nearby, Mr Maassen said.

That land was even closer to houses than the council's no-go area in the reserve, which would have kept turbines about 3 kilometres away from Ngahere Park, Mr Maassen said.

If the proposal went ahead, 11 turbines would be "right in the face of Ngahere Park". Mr Henry agreed the turbines were in "close proximity" to the park.

"I put it to you that the council decision provides a very clear indication of the council's concern about turbines close to Ngahere Park," Mr Maassen said.

Mr Henry acknowledged visual effects had generally been raised as a concern.

However, Mr Henry argued the scale of the proposal should not have surprised the council because it had always known private landowners could be involved.

"It was always identified that there was other land available."

A preliminary assessment by landscape architect Stephen Brown, before the purpose of the reserve was changed, had potential visual effects as moderate to high.

Unlike the hearing, the reserve's change of status was not a Resource Management Act process, Mr Henry said.

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