A concept drawing of what Paewira could look like.
A controversial waste-to-energy plant project in Te Awamutu has been put on hold for now.
A board of inquiry held three weeks of hearings about the proposal in June and was due to make a decision last month.
However, on August 13, the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) notified the applicant, Global Contracting Solutions Ltd, that it suspended the processing of the resource consent applications due to non-payment of costs.
“At this stage, there is no fixed deadline for payment.
“Once full payment of all outstanding costs has been received, the EPA will notify all parties and resume processing the application.”
The EPA told the Waikato Herald it was unable to disclose the amount of outstanding costs owed by the applicant, as discussions regarding payment were ongoing.
“The EPA is recovering actual and reasonable costs specifically incurred in relation to processing the Te Awamutu waste-to-energy plant resource consent applications as a proposal of national significance, including providing secretarial support to the Board of Inquiry,” the EPA said in a statement.
Global Contracting Solutions has been approached for comment.
The Hamilton-based company first launched resource consent applications to build a waste-to-energy plant in Te Awamutu with Waipā District Council and Waikato Regional Council in December 2021.
If approved, the plant – called Paewira – would be built at 401 Racecourse Rd, north of Te Awamutu, between the local racecourse and Fonterra effluent ponds, and burn 150,000 tonnes of waste annually.
The waste would be sourced from councils across the wider Waikato region and generate 15MW of electricity, enough to provide for about 14,000 households.
The material accepted into the facility would include end-of-life tyres, industrial waste, regionally sourced municipal solid waste and plastic. The plant would operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
It would be the first plant of this kind in New Zealand.
As part of the consultation process, the councils received more than 800 public submissions, with the majority being opposed to the development.
Opposition to the plant has included concerns about toxins and greenhouse gases being released into the atmosphere, and the location, which was close to residential housing, several schools and food businesses.
Global Contracting Solutions previously said the plant had been “specifically designed” to be “appropriate and compliant and safe” and air discharges were “benign”.
In December 2023, Waikato Regional Council asked Environment Minister Penny Simmonds to call in the application.
In August 2024, Simmonds called in the applications, meaning they will be decided as a proposal of national significance under the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA).
Simmonds said at the time she decided to refer the matter to a Board of Inquiry, instead of the Environment Court, since the proposal “aroused widespread public concern or interest” regarding its actual or likely effect on the environment.
“And ... the matters involve or [are] likely to involve technology, processes, or methods that are new to New Zealand and affect its environment.”
The Board of Inquiry consists of chairman Brian Dwyer, Nicholas Manukau and Myles McCauley.
Global Contracting Solutions had preferred for the matters to be referred to the Environment Court.
All 800 public submissions made during the council consultations were considered, however, with the Board of Inquiry taking over the processing of the application, the councils were also able to provide feedback.
During the board’s feedback period, they received 482 submissions.
Among those was Waipa District Council’s submission, which asked for the application to be declined.
Health New Zealand said in its submission it was neutral.
Danielle Zollickhofer is the Waikato news director and a multimedia journalist at the Waikato Herald. She joined NZME in 2021 and is based in Hamilton.