Warning Contact’s rejected wind farm project in Southland will delay NZ energy transition

A wind farm proposed for Southland has been rejected. Photo / Supplied

The New Zealand Wind Energy Association says rejection of Contact Energy’s proposed wind farm in Southland will delay the country’s energy transition at a time when urgent action is needed.

The association said the project, near Wyndham, would have been a significant step towards New Zealand’s transition to a net-zero future.

This week, an expert consenting panel that convened under the Covid-19 Recovery (Fast-track Consenting) Act 2020, declined Contact’s consent application on environmental grounds.

“To achieve the Government’s goal of doubling renewable energy by 2050, we must build 9GW-15GW of additional renewable electricity capacity over the next 25 years,” association chief executive Kevin Hart said.

In stark contrast, only 2.9GW was built over the last 25 years, he said.

“Building three to five times more renewable electricity capacity than in the past means we must think and act differently,” Hart said.

He hoped the project, and others being considered, were not further constrained from being built.

“If Aotearoa New Zealand is serious about meeting its renewable energy targets, we must ensure that well-planned and environmentally sustainable wind energy projects can proceed with haste,” he said.

Mike Fuge, chief executive of Contact Energy. Photo / Supplied.

Contact Energy chief executive Mike Fuge said it is “extremely concerning” that the company’s plans for the 330 megawatt (MW) wind farm had been blocked.

“It represents a significant setback for New Zealand’s decarbonisation, Contact’s mission to improve electricity security of supply, and the country’s economic development.”

He said Contact had worked tirelessly during the process over the past few years to respond to feedback and shape the project to minimise local effects.

This work led to a project scope that had the support of the Department of Conservation, Ngāi Tahu, Environment Southland, and the Southland District Council.

“Investing and building renewable energy generation, like the Southland Wind Farm, is in the national interest and is critical to reducing reliance on declining natural gas supply and providing affordable, clean and secure electricity to all New Zealanders,” Fuge said.

During construction, the New Zealand economy would benefit from the creation of up to 240 new jobs, with around $230m to $280m in domestic spending.

The panel’s decision can be appealed to the High Court within 15 working days, only on points of law and either by the applicant or those who were invited to comment during the application process.

Fuge said Contact would take time to review the decision and assess the next steps available.

The project was to be a 330MW, 55-turbine wind farm 15km east of Wyndham.

It was expected to produce about 1200GWh of additional generation a year.

Contact owns and operates a portfolio of 11 power stations, including hydro, geothermal, and gas-fired plants.

In its decision, the panel said the project represented a major opportunity to support the Government’s commitment to double the overall volume of electricity from renewable sources by 2050.

“The project would also have significant economic and social benefits, and positively contribute towards reducing New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions through the generation of renewable electricity.”

The panel noted that the Covid-19 Recovery (Fast-track Consenting) Act had been repealed in July 2023 but that there was provision for applications lodged before this date to continue to be processed.

“As indicated at the outset, the panel accepts that for long tail bats and other effects (on indigenous vegetation, wetlands, freshwater ecology, lizards and invertebrates) on Glencoe Station and Matariki Forest, the measures proposed by the applicant are appropriate,” it said.

But it said the project site had been identified as partially falling within an area identified as an “outstanding natural feature” (ONF) in the Southland/Murihiku regional landscape study.

The study was done as part of a region-wide landscape assessment, prepared for Environment Southland, Southland and Gore District Councils and Invercargill City Council by consultants Boffa Miskell in 2019.

“It is the significant values on the Jedburgh Plateau (including the ONF) and the strong policy directives that tied the panel’s hands, and the panel is not satisfied adverse effects on the important values on the Jedburgh Plateau (and the candidate ONF area) could be offset or compensated for in a way that will achieve the purpose of the [act],” the panel said.

Jamie Gray is an Auckland-based journalist, covering the financial markets and the primary sector. He joined the Herald in 2011.