Motorimu Wind Farm Proposal 

Palmerston North City Council and Horowhenua District Council have received land use consent applications from Motorimu Wind Farm Limited to construct, operate and maintain 129 wind turbines as part of a proposal known as the “˜Motorimu Wind Farm’. Both Councils consider that because of the potential for the proposal to generate more than minor effects on the environment that both applications should be publicly notified.

A separate application has been made to each Council for the wind turbines which are proposed in each district. However, it is important to note that both applications are to be jointly considered due to their interrelated nature.

A joint decision will be made on these applications by a panel of three independent Commissioners which have been appointed by Palmerston North City Council and Horowhenua District Council.

Location

The Motorimu Wind Farm is to be located along a 6.5 kilometre stretch of the Tararua Ranges approximately 10 kilometres southwest of the Palmerston North city urban area and 5 kilometres east of Tokomaru. The subject site is bounded by properties on part of Kahuterawa Road to the east, properties on Kendalls Line, Millricks Line, and Scotts Road to the north, and properties on Williams Road and Tokomaru East Road to the west. Click here to see Site Map.

Proposal Summary

The following bullet points summarise the key components of the land use consent applications:

· The construction, operation and maintenance of 129 wind turbines of which 124 turbines will be located within the Palmerston North City Council boundaries and 5 turbines within the Horowhenua District Council boundaries;

· The turbines will either be a VESTAS or ENERCON unit which comprises a 53 metre high tubular steel tower with a hub (known as a nacelle) mounted at the top upon which 3 x 26 metre long blades are attached to. The maximum height of the overall turbine is 81 metres from ground level to the tip of the rotor blade;

· A site office, 2000m2 substation building and yard, 600m2 maintenance shed and 400m2 switching station;

· A 220kV transmission line connecting the wind farm to the 220kV transmission network along with associated cable trenching within the site;

· A concrete batching plant including the creation of a freshwater dam located on Scotts Road;

· The erection of 3 new 55 metre high wind monitoring towers;

· The creation of a number of internal access tracks with associated earthworks to create the necessary turbine, building and batching plant platforms.

A water permit application has also been lodged with Horizons Regional Council for surface water take, water diversion and discharge to water activities for the purpose of creating a freshwater dam to supply the proposed concrete batching plant.

As part of their resource consent applications Motorimu Wind Farm Limited have submitted an assessment of environmental effects which is available to view at the places noted below.

Proposal Documents

Here is a list of the documents submitted by Motorimu Wind Farm Limited with their applications which are available for you to download. Please note that if you are using a ‘dial-up’ connection the larger documents may take a long time to download.

Motorimu AEE Report [566 KB]
Aerial Map – Turbines [726 KB]
Aerial Map – with roads [596 KB]
Topo map – with roads [410 KB]
Aerial Map – with monitoring towers [294 KB]
Aerial Map – with dump sites [307 KB]
Aerial Map – plant location [918 KB]
Aerial Map – with stream crossings [244 KB]
Aerial Map – with buildings [132 KB]
Enercon Turbine specifications] [174 KB]
Vestas Turbine Specifications [306 KB]
Vestas V52 Specifications [59 KB]
[Visual Assessment Report] [Refer below]
[Visual Simulations] [Refer below]
Noise Assessment Report [1772 KB]
[Ecological Assessment Report] [Refer below]
Traffic Impact Report [2478 KB]
Civil Works Study [3556 KB]
Substation & Transmission Plan [810 KB]
Batching Plant AEE [473 KB]
Batching Plant Ecological Report [81 KB]
Batching Plant Site Plan [515 KB]

Visual Assessment Report
Pages 1-19 [1,097KB]
Pages 20-46 [1,199KB]
Pages 47-62 [748KB]
Pages 63-77 [914KB]
Pages 78-92 [1,567KB]
Pages 93-104 [2,339KB]
Pages 105-112 [284KB]
Pages 113-118 [3,144KB]
Page 119 [208KB]
Visual Simulations
Pages 1-10 [615KB]
Pages 11-30 [1,312KB]
Pages 31-39 [1,028KB]
Ecological Assessment Report
Part 1 [657KB]
Part 2 [2,642KB]
Part 3 [3,245KB]
Part 4 [874KB]

Activity Status

The application site is zoned Rural in the Palmerston North City District Plan and the proposal is listed as a Discretionary (Unrestricted) Activity. The part of the site which lies within the Horowhenua District boundaries is zoned Rural and the proposal defaults to a Discretionary Activity in the Horowhenua District Plan as it is not otherwise provided for as a Permitted, Controlled or Limited Discretionary Activity.

Making a Submission

Any person may make a submission on the applications. For administration reasons all submissions are to be collected and receipted by Palmerston North City Council on behalf of Horowhenua District Council, so please drop off, or send by post, email or fax your written submission direct to:

The Governance and Civic Team Leader

City Corporate Unit

Private Bag 11034

Palmerston North City Council

Fax (06) 355 4115 or email submission@pncc.govt.nz

Your submission must be dated, signed by you, and include the following information:

1. Your name, postal address, daytime telephone number, and facsimile number (if applicable);

2. Details of the application in respect of which you are making the submission including the location (eg. does it relate to the wind turbines and associated works within the Palmerston North City boundaries or the Horowhenua District boundaries, or both?);

3. Whether you support or oppose the application;

4. Your submission, with reasons;

5. The decision you wish the Commissioners to make;

6. Whether you wish to be heard (speak) at a future hearing in support of your submission.

If you would prefer to lodge your submission on a standard form, please click here.

Please note that a copy of your submission must also be served as soon as reasonably practicable on the applicant. This can be done so by post, email or fax to Motorimu Wind Farm Limited, C/- Chapman Tripp, PO Box 993, Wellington (Attention: Nicky McIndoe – email: consent@motorimuwind.co.nz or fax: (04) 472 7111).

Submission Deadline

Your submission must be lodged with Palmerston North City Council no later than 4PM on FRIDAY 24 NOVEMBER 2006.

Viewing a hard copy of the proposal

Full hard copies of the applications can be viewed at both the Planning Services section, Civic Administration Building, 27-38 The Square, Palmerston North and the Horowhenua District Council Offices, 13 Bath Street, Levin, during usual office hours.

Enquiries

If you have any queries about the applications, or the submission process in general, please contact Jeff Baker of Palmerston North City Council in the first instance on (06) 356 8199 extension 7123 or by email: jeff.baker@pncc.govt.nz.

pncc.govt.nz