Hydrogen plan returning to court
Some hapū of Ngāruahine are heading to the Appeal Court with Greenpeace to seek tighter controls on a plan to make hydrogen from wind-powered electricity in South Taranaki.
Hiringa Energy wants to build four 206-metre tall wind turbines at Kāpuni, powering a plant to make hydrogen, which would be used to make urea at the adjacent Ballance fertiliser factory.
Hiringa says it will shift the hydrogen use over five years to power heavy vehicles instead, replacing diesel with a carbon emission-free alternative.
But the hapū and Greenpeace say there’s nothing in the resource consent to stop Hiringa using the hydrogen to make nitrogen fertiliser for decades.
The consent was fast-tracked – without a public hearing – under the Covid-19 Recovery (Fast-track Consenting) Act.
Greenpeace senior campaigner Steve Abel said the High Court should have decided that the Covid recovery Consenting Panel breached the Act, by not enforcing the shift to heavy transport fuel.
‘‘The Consenting Panel rightly identified that transition to 100 percent fuel use within five years was a critical reason for its decision to grant the consent, yet the conditions of the consent don’t require that transition to ever occur.’’
‘‘This effectively allows Hiringa and Ballance to keep using hydrogen for manufacturing polluting synthetic nitrogen fertiliser for decades, and never actually transition to using it for transport fuel.’’
In a statement, Hiringa and Ballance said they were ‘‘shocked and disappointed’’ by Greenpeace’s decision.
Cathy Clennett, chair of Hiringa Energy, said the action was ‘‘will simply stall the decarbonisation of heavy transport and industry and delay the transition from fossil fuels’’.
‘‘Greenpeace’s action could have a material impact on New Zealand’s emission reduction goals.’’
Andrew Clennett, Hiringa cofounder and chief executive, said the partnership with Ballance is vital to the development of largescale green hydrogen, so called because it is made using renewable energy sources such as wind.
‘‘When consented, the project was one of the first in the world for green hydrogen production at scale, but while this project has been stuck in court processes the world has moved on, and Aotearoa is being left behind.
‘‘Greenpeace’s actions will make renewable energy developers and innovators think seriously about whether to invest in New Zealand.’’
Kanihi Umutahi me ētehi atu hapū secretary Allen Web said the lack of certainty on the transition to hydrogen fuel undermined the consent, and disrespected Te Tiriti o Waitangi principles.
‘‘Synthetic nitrogen fertiliser including urea is one of many pollutants currently affecting our rivers, waterways, and potable water.’’
‘‘For decades, our people have fought to exert their kaitiakitanga and tikanga to safeguard our maunga, awa, whenua and moana so that the next generation don’t have to. When does it stop?’’
John Hooker of kahu-inuawai me ētehi ātu said his hapū already opposed the amount of urea fertiliser used on farms.
‘‘We support Greenpeace appealing the case because we object to the ability to perpetually create urea, where our marae has a deep well poisoned by aquifer nitrates.’’
Ngāti Haua’s Karl Adamson said his hapū had expressed several concerns during consultation – including fertiliser production.
‘‘What the hydrogen was being used to produce, in the start-up period… we considered this to be ‘dirty energy.’’’
Opinions have varied amongst the six hapū of Ngāruahine: Ngāti Manuhiakai and Ngāti Tū, which hold mana whenua closest to the project, gave conditional support.
It’s understood Ngāti Tū is now considering joining the Appeal Court action.
A cultural impact assessment by the iwi organisation Te Korowai o Ngāruahine initially gave conditional support, so long as the windmills were removed at the end of their useful life – a maximum of 35 years. The four giant wind turbines would be the tallest structures in Taranaki, built in what Ngāruahine considers a highly-valued cultural landscape, impacting on their relationship with Taranaki Maunga.
The consenting panel agreed that any future replacement wind turbines must be built on the coastal side of State Highway 45, far from Taranaki Maunga, on a site chosen in collaboration with hapū.
But initial objections grew over time, and a new Te Korowai board unsuccessfully tried to overturn the consent in the High Court earlier this year.
In the High Court decision in early November Justice Grice found the consenting panel had not failed to consider the cultural landscape of Ngāruahine.
Hooker said any turbines should be built near the coast.
‘‘The potential erection of these hideous structures in our backyard creating eye pollution in relation to our spiritual interaction with our tupuna maunga is horrifying.’’
‘‘They are four times higher than the Hāwera water tower. I shudder to think of the noise pollution for those residents within three kilometres of these towers.’’