Board in a bind over wind farm response
By Tim O’Connell
As the ten year wait for a wind farm in the Ohariu Valley becomes a reality for advocates of the plan, the local community board has offered a muted response to the decision.
Both the Wellington and Porirua City Councils gave the final thumbs up to Meridian Energy’s Mill Creek wind farm proposal on February 18, after resource consent was given late last year.
With the decision now finalised, proponents of the development are now awaiting the next move from the energy supplier regarding the start date for construction.
“We are pleased that the councils have approved the wind farm and Meridian will be now taking the time to review this comprehensive decision,” said Meridian Energy Chief Executive Tim Lusk.
However, for those charged with putting forward the concerns of local residents to the WCC, the situation has meant that an overall reaction has been hard to establish for a variety of reasons.
“It’s very difficult to make any sort of comment on it, because we’ve kind of been created by the council,” said Ohariu/Makara Community Board Chairperson Ruth Paul.
“The board’s in an odd position at the moment as it is, given that our members are drawn from both sides of the argument.”
Nevertheless, Ms Paul says her board still holds an important role in putting forward the concerns of the people of the Ohariu/ Makara area.
It is understood that Meridian had originally planned to install 31 turbines on the Ohariu Valley farm site, but was eventually granted approval to build 29.
With the amount of power generated expected to exceed 70 megawatts, the Mill Creek project will be capable of produce enough electricity to meet the needs of over 30,000 households.
This latest wind farm comes closely on the heels of the West Wind farm currently under construction at Terawhiti station and Makara Farm, just south of the Mill Creek location.
