MPs split over fast tracked wind farm plan
Government MPs are singing from different song sheets over whether Waikato residents should have a say over one of the country’s largest windfarms appearing in their neighbourhood.
Port Waikato MP Andrew Bayly said Waiuku locals campaigning against the building of a wind farm should be consulted due to the “developer’s lack of consultation with residents”.
However, the Government’s Minister Responsible for RMA Reform Chris Bishop, said the country’s “overly restrictive consenting process” had resulted in a “severe infrastructure deficit”. He said only those directly impacted by the project should be able to have a say.
A proposal to build 13 giant wind turbines up to 190m high on north Waikato coastal land has shocked locals who said the company behind the Waiuku Wind Farm project, which has been “fast tracked“under Covid-19 Recovery Act legislation, had not adequately consulted with them.
Earlier this week, Waiuku farmer Willy Muir said he, and members of the Waiuku Rural Preservation Society, wanted the consent process handed back to local and regional councils so a full public consultation process could be entered into.
The company behind the project - LET Capital Number 3 Limited (LET) - said in its application it wants to build 13 wind turbines on a 560ha site about 8km from Waiuku, which should produce around 80MW of electricity at peak capacity.
The Waiuku Wind Farm proposal is awaiting assessment by an independent panel of experts after it was cleared for fast-tracking by the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) in December last year.
Bayly said he had met with the Waiuku Rural Preservation Society on several occasions and “has assisted them with putting forward their case as much as they can”.
Bayly has written to the EPA regarding the developer’s lack of consultation with residents.
“New Zealand needs more renewable energy, but we need to balance these objectives with the views of the local community,” he said.
“In this case it would appear that the developer hasn’t adequately engaged with the community and sought to mitigate some of the significant issues.”
LET director John Southworth was approached for comment, but did not respond.
However, Bishop said New Zealand’s overly restrictive consenting process “and the previous Government’s affinity for red tape has resulted in a severe infrastructure deficit”.
“Our new ‘one stop shop’ fast track consenting regime will significantly reduce the time it takes to approve major projects, such as renewable energy infrastructure.
“The new process will allow for those directly impacted by projects to have an opportunity to have their say,” Bishop said.
Senior communications adviser at the EPA, Julia Scott-Beetham, said a panel had not yet been appointed to assess LET’s application.
“The panel convener, Judge Laurie Newhook, will appoint an independent expert consenting panel for this project.
“We are not able to provide an indication of when a panel will be appointed at this stage.”
She said there was no requirement for the expert consenting panel to hold a hearing for a consent application, and the panel would decide if a hearing was required.