October 7, 2011
New Zealand

Case for Grassmere wind farm

ROB MCINTOSH, The Marlborough Express, www.stuff.co.nz 7 October 2011

Dominion Salt yesterday presented their plans to build a wind farm at Lake Grassmere, but will have to wait at least another week to hear whether resource consent is granted.

The company, which is the only salt producer in New Zealand, presented submissions from relevant industries, such as acoustics and ecology.

Independent consultant and landscape architect Mike Moore that the visual amenity of the area would not significantly suffer from the development.

The five-turbine wind farm would appear prominently from some positions but would not adversely impact the visual amenity, he said.

URS acoustics engineer Michael Smith said the level of noise at the closest home would be 26 decibels, well below the 40 decibel maximum recommended by Standards New Zealand.

Energy3 develops small-scale wind farms in New Zealand. Director Tom Cameron said from one kilometre away there would be no more than 10 hours a year when shadow flicker would be caused by rotating blades. The closest home is 1.5km away.

Wind turbines were lightning- protected and had a strict control system to shut down when the wind became too strong, he said.

Wildlife Management International operations manager Mike Bell said there were no bird migration routes over or through the area.


URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2011/10/07/case-for-grassmere-wind-farm/