Turitea Wind Farm Project
Image above: The updated site layout (February 2010)
Turitea Wind Farm - Redesign
Mighty River Power was selected by Palmerston North City Council in 2005, following a competitive tender process as its partner, to investigate, consent and develop a wind farm on Council-owned land in the Tararua Ranges.
The northern Tararua Ranges have long been identified as an area with an abundant wind resource. The wind has been shown to be more consistent, and of high enough speed, to make it a wind resource that is not only unique in a New Zealand context, but also internationally.
On 4 September 2009 Mighty River Power, responding to a number of comments from the Board of Inquiry and issues raised by submitters, initiated a review of the wind farm layout.
Mighty River Power was, and remains confident that the wind farm layout as originally represented an appropriate balance of environmental effects and project benefits. However, consistent with its company values of understanding what is important to and building relationships with the communities in which it operates, and following the commitment to the Board of Inquiry, Mighty River Power has completed a redesign of the wind farm layout with the aim of further reducing the environmental effects of the wind farm. With the revised layout Mighty River Power believes that it has been able to achieve this objective.
As of 1 February 2010, the proposed Turitea Wind Farm consists of:
• 105 potential turbine zones; 60 within the Turitea Reserve, 45 on adjacent private properties
• up to 104 wind turbines
• maximum turbine height of 125m; up to 80m hub height, up to 45m blade length
• three blades per turbine
• two internal substations
• overhead transmission lines; 6.1km within wind farm, 5.2km from wind farm to Linton Substation (national grid)
Additional project information, including information on the redesign, can also be located via the links below:
• Consent documents and evidence
• Press releases about the Turitea Wind Farm
The Consenting Process
The Minister for the Environment has referred our applications for resource consent for this project to an independent Board of Inquiry, describing a Board of Inquiry as the most transparent and fair way to decide the outcome of this proposal. Submissions closed on the 23rd February 2009.
The role of the Board is to consider Mighty River Power’s applications, hold public hearings that allow interested parties to comment, and decide whether or not the Turitea project should go ahead.
The Board of Inquiry hearing commenced on the 6th July 2009 and is currently in recess. The hearing is expected to reconvene on 15 March 2010.
Further Information
If you have any questions or comments about Turitea, you can contact us directly on:
Email: turitea@mightyriver.co.nz
Tel: 0800 TURITEA
Additional information on the Turitea Wind Farm project and the Board of Inquiry process is also available on the MfE website: http://www.mfe.govt.nz/rma/call-in-turitea/index.html
2009