Turbines still in plan despite legal stoush

Small wind farm developer New Zealand Windfarms intends to install the turbines of Windflow Technology on an extension to its Manawatu wind farm despite their dispute over whether they are "fit for purpose".

NZ Windfarms was at a resource consent hearing in Palmerston North last week, seeking to install 56 Windflow 0.5 megawatt two-bladed turbines on an extension to its Te Rere Hau wind farm in Manawatu.

NZ Windfarms had been in dispute with Windflow Technology over whether International Electrotechnical Certification for the turbines was a requirement of the supply contract between the two. It has questioned if the turbines are fit for purpose.

NZ Windfarms was originally a subsidiary of Windflow and was set up by Windflow founder Geoff Henderson to be its first customer and test the technology.

However Auckland electricity networks company Vector is now the main shareholder in NZ Windfarms and appears to be driving a tougher stance towards its supplier. IEC certification has taken longer than both companies expected.

NZ Windfarms chief executive Stephen Cross said the fact that its resource consent application for the extension stated it would install the Windflow turbines should not be seen as endorsing the technology. "It's neither a positive or negative on the technology," he said.

NZ Windfarms was already committed to buying 32 turbines for the last stage of the Te Rere Hau project – stage 4.

But it preferred to put those turbines on the extension area which is on the eastern side of the Tararua Range, adjacent to the existing wind farm with 65 turbines on the western side.

The company had assessed the wind resource on the eastern side was better than the stage 4 area of Te Rere Hau.

It had decided to seek consent for 56 turbines to keep its options open even though it intended to install only 32 and would have 24 consented turbine sites empty on the extension.

Cross said when a wind farm plan was done there was a lot of science in working out the best layout and location of turbines to get the most out of the wind resource.

"We could not have feasibly consented for 32 of one kind of turbines and 24 for another. It would have been a very, very difficult consenting exercise because of the visual impact."

Cross said the company was confident of resolving its dispute with Windflow.

The company said in its resource consent application that it intended to be a long-term owner, operator and developer of wind farms.