Birds to play key role in: Giant wind farm plan

The flight paths of migrating birds could play a key role in the siting of giant turbines on a Northland wind farm.
Meridian Energy wants to build a wind farm in the Rototuna Forest, on Northland's west coast, using turbines more than 100m tall.
Meridian has been assessing the Rototuna Forest site for two years and has an 80m-high mast there holding an anemometer aloft to measure wind strength.
If the gusts and other factors meet requirements, Meridian will consider building a wind farm capable of generating up to 500 megawatts - enough to power the whole of Northland and some of Auckland too.
A $450,000 Merlin avian radar system - the most advanced machine of its kind in the country - has also been placed in the 6000ha Rototuna Forest, an ex-Evergreen plantation bought by the New Zealand Superannuation Fund in 2005.
The avian radar system, which can be remotely controlled via satellite, will track migratory routes of birds, to help determine where turbines could be sited.
The system was developed by US company DeTect Inc, a world leader in producing radar systems for aircraft bird strike avoidance, avian risk assessment and migratory research.
Meridian communications officer Claire Shaw said the Rototuna concept was still in its early stages. However, if it eventually got the green light it would be likely to use 111m-high 2.3MW wind turbines similar to those the state-owned enterprise is now installing at its West Wind project under construction near Wellington.
Any future Pouto project would aim to make a minimal environmental impact, she said.
Information produced by the radar study would also interest the Department of Conservation, Ms Shaw said.
Sustainable environmental options which Meridian has discussed with Pouto landowners greatly interested Northland Regional Council chairman Mark Farnsworth, who attended the talks as a representative of a Maori trust.
"This wind farm is an exciting prospect. Providing Northland with a power supply would be very good for the region going forward," he said.
Mr Farnsworth said that, given the move toward clean methods of energy production, the Rototuna concept rated close examination. "I'd like to see it fleshed out. Some environmental issues need working through, but I think the way environmental data is being gathered is excellent."
The NZ Superannuation Fund general manager of corporate strategy, Tim Mitchell, said his organisation was helping Meridian by giving them access to the site to assess whether it was suitable for a wind farm development.
"In our view, if the engineering and the economic aspects of the project are favourable, this could be a significant project for the Northland region as well as contributing to the security of supply of the national electricity network," he said.
Meridian is assessing wind strength at Omamari and is also examining the possibility of a 36-turbine wind farm at the Ahipara gumfields.