Meridian to appeal wind farm veto
Meridian Energy yesterday lodged an appeal to pursue its plans for a billion-dollar wind farm in Central Otago – a move protesters say is a bullying tactic by a corporate giant.
The Environment Court earlier this month refused Meridian resource consent for its Project Hayes wind farm on the Lammermoor Range, saying the area was an outstanding natural landscape.
Meridian chief executive Tim Lusk said the court’s decision, particularly based on protecting landscape, would mean it would be almost impossible to consent for infrastructure developments the country needed.
“It’s an inescapable fact that developments of this kind do have an impact on the environment. There’s no avoiding it.”
The Project Hayes decision had effectively created a new test for projects to overcome which was unworkable, Mr Lusk said.
Of concern to the company was that under the decision an explicit cost-benefit analysis of the project was now required. To make developers outline the benefits of their proposal would result in central planning by resource consent process, Mr Lusk said.
Save Central president and artist Grahame Sydney said the appeal came as no surprise but it was disappointing.
“It’s a major disappointment.”
Sydney said the appeal was a face-saving gesture for Meridian.
He also felt it was a bullying tactic by a corporate that had money to take an appeal to court, while small protesters would struggle to get funds.
“We now have to publicly raise funds to support an appeal. We are still in debt for the Environment Court hearing,” Sydney said.
Central Otago Environmental Society lawyer Ian Gordon said lawyers for the society were deeply disappointed that Meridian had appealed the Environment Court’s decision.
Proclaimed adverse implications of the decision for other projects might have encouraged Meridian to appeal, and Meridian might well find points of law in the judge’s decision to criticise or question, but this could not reverse the fundamental findings of (Environment Court) fact, Mr Gordon said.
By NATASHA HOLLAND – The Southland Times
28 November 2009
Tags: Wind power, Wind energy
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