Locals blind-sided by giant wind farm plan
A proposal to build 13 giant wind turbines up to 190m high on north Waikato coastal land has shocked locals who said they had been blind-sided by the plans which were “fast tracked“under the Covid-19 Recovery Act.
The Waiuku Wind Farm proposal is being assessed by an independent panel of experts after it was cleared for fast-tracking by the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) in December last year.
The company behind the project - LET Capital Number 3 Limited (LET) - said in application documents it wants to build 13 wind turbines on a 560ha site near Karioitahi Beach, Maioro, about 8km from Waiuku.
The turbines, just north of the mouth of the Waikato River, would be some of the largest in the country, measuring 190m from the ground to the top of the turbine blades.
The project would employ up to 330 people during its two-year build time, and about 30 staff when complete.
The wind farm is expected to produce 80MW of power at peak capacity, and while locals said they were not against renewable energy projects, a group set up to oppose the project said there had to be a better place for a wind farm than there.
Co-chairperson of the Waiuku Rural Preservation Society Mark Robinson said the group “accidentally” found out about the plans mid last year and since then had been trying to get answers from the developers, Waikato District Council and the Government.
“It’s causing a lot of stress, we have got people who have been diagnosed as clinically depressed because of this - it came out of the blue and totally blind-sided them,” Robinson said.
He said the group had major concerns about the location of the turbines - one being just 400m from a house - and were close to an old pa site, sea bird colonies, native bat populations and a wetland.
They also had concerns around noise, vibrations caused by the turbines, and their effects on property values.
Robinson said three local farmers had agreed to lease their land for the wind farm project, “raising eyebrows among long-standing neighbours and friends”.
“The lack of consultation and the lack of democracy under this fast-track legislation has led to 37 affected residents having literally no say in this proposal ... the lack of transparency is very worrying.”
He said the time had come “for the government to exercise due diligence and carefully assess the implications of the proposed wind farm project in Waiuku”.
LET director John Southworth said the company were working within normal legal frameworks, and that any decision to consult with affected parties had to be made by the EPA’s panel of experts.
“We have engaged with independent experts to write reports that are available to anyone who wants to read them, and we look forward to the panel assessing those reports,” Southworth said.
Waikato district mayor Jacqui Church said because the project had been fasttracked the council had no regulatory oversight on it, and there was very little the council could do except advocate on behalf of locals.
“People are understandably upset and concerned ... but the key term here is ‘fast-tracking’, and if we get an opportunity to make a submission and have our say we will do so.
“It is important that people have the opportunity to have their say, including voicing their concerns and looking at practicable mitigations to any impacts on their lives and property.
“Unfortunately it is not always the case with planning and infrastructure decisions - particularly when these are mandated like this one by the past Government's fast track process - that people are satisfied with the outcome which is likely to have a significant impact on their daily lives."
She said a community meeting was held late last year where around 50 people met with her and Port Waikato MP Andrew Bayly to voice their concerns.
“Unfortunately they found out about this [project] almost at the last minute.
“I’ve spoken to locals, and we empathise with their concerns, but we have very few levers we can pull in terms of this project.
“For us to have no voice in the proposal is unfair,” she said.