There is much to like about the announcement that plans are afoot to develop a major wind farm on coastal land north of Wanganui.
The plans are ambitious, to say the least, and the scale is impressive. The farm would cover about 1000 hectares and include 48 turbines with amaximum height of 160m. That is a considerable investment by TrustPower in the regional economy and should give the area a significant boost during construction and provide some ongoing jobs once it is operational.
The obvious economic gains will no doubt be a critical component emphasised by the company during its publicity campaign, which begins in Waverley tonight. Representatives will, no doubt, be at pains to point out such developments don't happen every day in the country's smaller rural townships.
Wind generation has many advocates as a renewable energy source, although that hardly makes it sustainable in an environmental sense. One need only recall the opposition to Project Hayes, Meridian Energy's ill-fated wind farm proposal for the Lammermoor Range of Otago. After widespread concern at the environmental impact, the project was shelved despite Meridian spending close to $9 million. Among opponents were poet Brian Turner, artist Grahame Sydney and former All Blacks captain Anton Oliver.
The South Taranaki wind farm is unlikely to generate so much opposition. Aside from differences in the landscape, the two are not even close in terms of scale. The Lammermoor scheme would have cost $2 billion and comprised 176 turbines generating 630MW of electricity; the TrustPower plan is for 48 turbines generating 130MW.
There will be environmental impacts, but as New Zealand continues to seek out alternative energy generation methods to replace less desirable options like coal-fired plants, we need to consider these types of options.
There is no guarantee this latest development will proceed; it comes after a failed bid in 2007 by Australian company Allco Wind Energy. But by consulting with the public, involving neighbours and local iwi early on, TrustPower at least is setting firm foundations for a successful venture.
