Govt call-in stalls wind farm consent
Mighty River Power’s application to build a 131-turbine wind farm in the Turitea Reserve is in limbo, until Environment Minister Trevor Mallard makes up his mind.
The Palmerston North City Council received the resource consent application in August, and had expected to publicly notify it in early October.
But the council was now waiting to hear the outcome of a ministerial call-in application, Mayor Jono Naylor said.
“The council’s role will be different if the minister does call it in. We don’t want to be spending a whole lot of time and money going down one path.”
Mr Mallard is considering a call-in at Mighty River Power’s request.
If he does agree to a call-in, it would take the decision-making process out of the council’s hands.
The application would instead be considered by either the Environment Court or a board of inquiry.
Earlier this month, the council voted unanimously to oppose the call-in.
Mr Naylor was interested to hear the outcome.
“We certainly hope he will take on board what has been an overwhelming view in our community.”
Mr Mallard had promised a decision soon, but there was no specific time frame, he said.
The council had also approached Mighty River Power, asking them to withdraw the request.
Mr Naylor had not heard anything new about that development.
* The proposed Turitea Wind Farm has been a controversial topic in Palmerston North since it first became public.
Questions about how the residents were consulted, why the decision was made, and exactly what the relationship with Mighty River Power is, abound.
So what is the story? And what now?
Starting today, the Manawatu Standard will run a series of articles looking at the issue, and into the future.
By Katie Chapman
29 September 2008
The copyright of this article is owned by the author or publisher indicated. Its availability here constitutes a "fair use" as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law as well as in similar "fair dealing" exceptions of the copyright laws of other nations, as part of National Wind Watch's effort to advance understanding of the environmental, social, scientific, and economic issues of large-scale wind power development. For more information, click here.
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