Wind Power News: New Zealand
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch to help keep readers informed about developments related to industrial wind energy. They are the products of the organizations or individuals noted.
Windfarm more efficient than hydro, inquiry told
A proposed wind farm in the Kakanui Ranges near Oamaru would be more efficient and lower-cost than a hydro power scheme, an expert witness has told the Environment Court.
Meridian Energy is seeking to take water from Lake Waitaki and pass it through a tunnel and power station before discharging the water into the Waitaki River at Stonewall.
It has been granted resource consent to take the water, but that decision has been appealed by the Lower Waitaki River Management Society.
Ken Mitchell, . . .
New company considering Kakanui Mountains for wind farm site
The Kakanui Mountains in North Otago are being investigated by a new company for a wind farm to generate electricity.
Waitaki Wind, set up recently by former Meridian Energy Ltd chief executive Keith Turner and former Waitaki mayor Alan McLay, is negotiating with landowners on the Kakanui Mountains to get access to start monitoring, according to evidence at the Environment Court yesterday.
The company, in which Mr McLay and Dr Turner are sole shareholders and directors, has pre-empted a similar move by . . .
Waitaki’s wind potential
One of New Zealand’s most influential businessmen is looking at developing wind farms to tap the huge industrial potential in South Canterbury.
Keith Turner, the former chief executive of energy giant Meridian, has set up a company called Waitaki Wind to investigate the Waitaki Valley’s potential for renewable energy production.
Turner told The Timaru Herald large-scale agricultural and industrial developments proposed for the region ‘‘could turn South Canterbury and North Otago into the envy of the country.’’
With several significant projects set to . . .
Looking at sites for wind farms
Former Waitaki mayor Alan McLay and former power company chief executive Keith Turner have set up a company to investigate the potential of new wind farms.
They are the sole shareholders and directors of Waitaki Wind, registered to look at areas in the central South Island for wind farms.
Dr Turner was former chief executive of Meridian Energy when it instigated the Project Hayes wind farm and the north bank tunnel concept hydro-power scheme on the Waitaki River.
Mr McLay was Waitaki mayor . . .
Line hostility dissolves
There has been no appeal to the Environment Court over Wel Networks’ resource consent for a 25 kilometre 110kV electricity line between its proposed Te Uku wind farm and a Te Kowhai substation.
The new line, which will be supported on poles up to 17 metres high, will run from Te Kowhai to the Raglan Deviation and then via the existing electricity route to the wind farm.
Opponent Sean Cox described the line and associated substations as being “as obsolete as a . . .
City scrambling to meet deadline
Ambiguous language has left Palmerston North City Council scrambling to meet a tough deadline if it wants Local Government New Zealand to support national guidelines for wind farms.
The council had applied to have a remit included on LGNZ’s annual meeting agenda, calling for a national policy statement on wind farms.
The support of at least five councils is required for any remit, and Palmerston North had nine.
But LGNZ denied the application, unless the wording of the remit was changed.
It had to . . .
No costs awarded in abandoned Kaiwera wind farm appeal
Trustpower has failed in its bid to have more than $30,000 in costs awarded against a group that dropped an appeal against the company’s plans for a big wind farm near Gore at the last minute.
An Environment Court ruling, released yesterday, ruled no costs should be awarded against the Upland Landscape Protection Society which had lodged an appeal against TrustPower’s planned $400 million wind farm at Kaiwera Downs, near Gore.
The power company had been seeking $31,500, which it estimated . . .
Wind power not such good bet
Many governments have found that wind power hasn’t lived up to the claims made for it by its advocates, and are now backing away from subsidising expensive wind power developments.
German domestic wind construction has drastically slowed. In 2005 their Energy Agency found that increasing the amount of wind power would hike consumer costs 3.7 times over alternatives; and that theoretical reduction of greenhouse gas emissions could be achieved more cheaply by installing filters on existing fossil-fuel plants.
Switzerland is cutting subsidies . . .
Infigen buys Babcock and Brown wind assets
Wind power company Infigen Energy says it will spend $23.5 million to purchase key assets owned by Babcock & Brown International.
In a statement to the stock market on Wednesday, Infigen said it had settled on the terms for acquiring Babcock’s Australian and New Zealand wind energy projects and its US wind asset management business.
“The total consideration for these acquisitions is $23.5 million,” Infigen said in a statement.
“Additional separation costs are still expected to be approximately $8 million,” the company said.
Financial . . .
Turbine decision means no appeal
The Marlborough Environment Centre has decided against appealing the resource consent granted for a Ward wind farm to the Environment Court, after agreement was reached to reduce the turbine size to two-thirds of its initial height.
Farmers Carole and Nick Webby were granted resource consent two weeks ago by the Marlborough District Council to erect up to three 75-metre-high wind turbines on a ridge of Centre Hill on their Weld Cone farm, three kilometres southeast of Ward.
The wind farm will be . . .
