December 16, 2006
New Zealand
New Zealand
Horowhenua District Council has lodged a submission opposing some aspects of the proposed Motorimu wind farm.
However, the council is “strongly supportive” of wind farms and sustainable energy generation in general, strategic and corporate services manager David Clapperton said.
“As a council, we need to balance competing interests to look after the current and future wellbeing of our community. While we are very supportive of harnessing wind energy given climate and our clean green image, we believe several changes are needed before we can support this wind farm.”
The Motorimu wind farm proposes 129 turbines, five in the Horowhenua District and the rest will come under Palmerston North City Council. The wind farm will be about 15km south of Palmerston North on both sides of Scotts Road.
The city council notified the resource consent application and received 218 submissions, of which 164 (75 percent) were against and 40 (18 percent) submissions were in support. The remaining 14 (7 percent) were neutral or the council is in process of contacting them to clarify their position.
The resource consent hearing is scheduled to start on February 12.
Mr Clapperton said the district council is concerned about the potential current and cumulative effects of wind farms on the skyline, which is recognised as an outstanding landscape.
The placing of the substation and the location of the turbines are the two areas of concern, he said.
The district council doesn’t want the substation, planned for the top of Williams Road, to be “unsightly”.
It is unlikely the substation will be relocated, so he would like some landscaping, Mr Clapperton said.
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2006/12/16/worries-about-wind-farm-look/