April 12, 2011
New Zealand

33 turbines blowing in

Marc Greenhill, The Press, www.stuff.co.nz 12 April 2011Marc Greenhill, The Press, www.stuff.co.nz 12 April 2011

An application to build a 33-turbine wind farm in North Canterbury has been lodged by Meridian Energy.

The application, publicly notified by the Hurunui District Council on Saturday, seeks land-use consent for a wind farm at Centre Hill, near Greta Valley, about 66 kilometres north of Christchurch.

Project Hurunui Wind aims to establish 33 turbines, with a maximum height of up to 130.5 metres, along with an operations and maintenance building.

The consent application also provides for earthworks, including up to 773,000 cubic metres associated with roading, turbine platforms and other works. An internal road network of about 22km would provide access around the site.

Meridian said the wind farm would provide the upper South Island with 75.9 megawatts of renewable energy, providing power for up to 31,000 households.

Opponents have raised concerns about noise and the effect on their landscape and property values.

Greta Valley businessman John Carr said in February that the proposal was ”no different to being attacked by an enemy”, but he did not want to comment.

Hurunui project manager Alan McKinney said Canterbury needed to help ”shoulder the burden” for new power generation.

Energy demand was growing about 2 per cent a year and there was an urgent need for new sources, he said.

The application was lodged with the council at the end of February but was put on hold after the February 22 earthquake. Submissions close on May 24.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2011/04/12/33-turbines-blowing-in/