Region faces influx of wind, solar projects
A new energy inventory for Waikato is heralding a potentially massive jump in electricity generation from renewable wind and solar sources in the region.
It reveals a total of nine potential wind farms - one consented and eight proposed - both on land and off the west coast.
The massive potential jump in wind-powered electricity generation could add more than 4500 megawatts of capacity, the regional council’s draft Waikato Regional Energy Inventory says.
Solar projects either consented or proposed could add another 908MW, says the document, received by the strategy and policy committee on Wednesday.
That means that if all the wind and solar projects go ahead the region’s generation capacity could increase from the 3837MW provided by all sources now to more than 9200MW.
The council’s principal strategic advisor Blair Dickie said in an interview he obviously couldn’t forecast whether every one would proceed.
“But if all the proposed projects go ahead it could more than double the current installed generation capacity” within 25 years, he said.
The news comes at a time of some community nervousness over wind and solar farms - for example, locals at Waiuku are concerned about a proposal from LET Capital to install 13 wind turbines aimed at generating 85MW.
Ventus Energy, meanwhile, has a consented project for eight turbines at Taumatatotara in Waitomo district, and is looking at two projects near Paeroa and Te Aroha, and at Glen Massey on the west coast. Manawa Energy is considering a 230MW project on farm land north-east of Huntly.
But some of the biggest projects being looked at, which could involve billions of dollars of investment, are potential marine wind farms off the region’s wild west coast.
They include a two-phase project, involving BlueFloat Energy and Elemental Group, that could produce up to 2000MW.
Two other offshore schemes, that could generate 1000MW each, are being considered by Australian firm Oceanex, and a joint project by the Danish Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners and the NZ Super Fund.
On the solar front, there are four consented projects using up to 347 hectares that could generate 461MW, while another four proposed schemes could see more than 63ha used to generate 446MW.
Dickie said there was a drying up going on in the north of the region that could affect farming and see more land used for solar generation.
The draft inventory is evidence to help the council deal with Government energy-related initiatives, and to review and update the region’s energy strategy.
Dickie said the council is looking at what regulatory “levers” it can use to facilitate low carbon emissions electricity generation. He noted wind generation could “absolutely” play a key role in achieving that goal. City and district councils had responsibility for managing the effects of wind and solar farms on land use, while the regional council’s role was to help integrate developments with land use.
That might mean, for example, being involved in integrating offshore wind turbines with the coastal marine area and onshore land use.
The draft said it was likely at least 25% of anticipated future connections to Transpower’s grid for supply and demand would come from Waikato, underscoring the region’s importance nationally on the energy front.
Dickie said that figure was significantly higher than historically.
Meanwhile, Nathan Turner, New Zealand country manager of BlueFloat Energy - part of the most ambitious offshore Waikato wind farm plans - said he was expecting some key policy decisions from the Government by the end of March.
Turner said in an interview it was hoped a regulatory regime for offshore farms could be in place by the end of the year.
“That would mean we could get a feasibility permit next year ... we would then kick off a few years of site surveys and site investigations.”
A permit “gives you an allocation of a certain area of seabed and then it allows you to go into the field and start doing some of the site surveys for that area”.
That work and sorting out consenting and finance “would pretty much take us through to the end of the decade” with no construction starting till the 2030s.
But “we could be starting construction 2032 ... and be sending electrons into the national grid by 2033-34.”
However, BlueFloat was still considering installing wind turbines off Taranaki as well as Waikato, with neither site the “favoured child” as yet.
On the previously declared goal of attracting local investment partners, Turner said the project was still talking to a number of companies about investing but nothing was finalised. It was hoped to do that before a feasibility permit was applied for.
“So it’s a priority of ours in 2024 to bring another partner into the projects. These are large investments and they’re new to most New Zealand-based companies.
“At the moment we’re prioritising local partners ... we’re well aware that we’re fishing in a relatively small pool.”