Airport safety an issue for Tararua windfarm

TrustPower offered to help Palmerston North Airport buy an instrument landing system, the planning hearing for its proposed Tararua 3 wind farm extension heard yesterday.

Four of the project's 40 proposed turbines may encroach the airport safety zone and by installing an instrument landing system (ILS), any threat posed by the turbines could be removed, TrustPower's projects and asset development manager Deion Campbell said.

TrustPower yesterday began its case seeking a resource consent for the Tararua 3 project. Because 26 of the proposed turbines come under the jurisdiction of Palmerston North City Council and 14 are under that of Tararua District Council, the hearing is being heard by four commissioners: Alister Aburn and Roger Lane for the city and Tararua deputy Mayor David Lea and councillor Bill Keltie.

TrustPower had offered the Palmerston North Airport Company several options for assistance with the ILS installation including a capital injection and an interest-free loan, all of which had been refused, Mr Campbell said.

However, TrustPower would be prepared to delay the construction of the four turbines until a solution is found that would ensure there was no effect on safety.

TrustPower's legal counsel, Jennifer Caldwell, said the company was delighted it had received 106 submissions in support of the project and that no opposing submissions were received in Tararua district TrustPower assumes that meant the community is supportive.

But it was disappointed by the 230 Palmerston North submissions against the project which contradicted the feedback it said it received during consultation.

TrustPower proposes to add 40 more turbines to the 103 in the existing Tararua Wind Farm.

The new turbines, Vestas V90, are made in Denmark. They have three blades, a hub height of up to 65m, a rotor diameter of up to 90m -- equalling a blade tip height of 110m -- and a rated electrical output of up to 3 megawatts (Mw).

The proposed turbines could produce enough renewable energy annually for about 55,000 homes, or about 137,000 New Zealanders.

Construction will take about 14 months, with a likely start date within three months of the resource consent being given.

New Zealand Wind Energy Association chief executive James Glennie said wind turbines produce electricity inexpensively, and it is possible to avoid using New Zealand's finite reserves of fossil fuels in coal and gas-fired power stations.

For example, 1000Mw worth of wind turbines would generate 10 per cent of New Zealand's total electricity demand, he said.

Currently, wind power generates 1 per cent of the country's power.

"By generating this much power from wind turbines, rather than from a coal-fired power station, it would be possible to avoid burning about 1.5 million tonnes of coal annually."

Over 20 years -- the typical life of a wind farm -- this would be equivalent to 30 million tonnes of coal , Mr Glennie said.

The hearing is expected to take five days.

- nzpa