July 7, 2012
New Zealand

Wind farm ruling won’t resolve issue in Pahiatua

Mathew Grocott | Manawatu Standard | www.stuff.co.nz 7 July 2012

A Pahiatua man sick of being woken by the nearby Te Rere Hau Wind Farm is taking little comfort from an Environment Court ruling that the farm has breached its resource consent.

Richard Day has made more than 200 noise complaints about the wind farm, which he says sounds like a quietly running car engine outside his house. On Thursday the Environment Court released a ruling the wind farm was breaching its consent, after Palmerston North City Council asked for a hearing. Predictions of noise levels included in the farm’s resource consent application were found to be inaccurate.

The wind farm, owned by NZ Windfarms Limited, consists of 97 turbines, 65 of which are within Palmerston North City Council’s boundaries. The rest are in Tararua District. Mr Day said while he hoped the decision would help those residents on the Palmerston North-side of the Ruahine Range, he didn’t see it doing much good for him, as the court’s decision only relates to the turbines under the jurisdiction of Palmerston North City Council.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2012/07/07/wind-farm-ruling-wont-resolve-issue-in-pahiatua/