The 'West Wind' Proposal
The transition to renewable energy is absolutely vital. With
scientists warning that we only have 10 years to tackle climate
change to avoid wide-scale ecological, economic and social
disaster, we can no longer afford to wait for a major transition
to renewable and sustainable energy sources.
Fortunately there is a solution - a phase out of fossil fuels
such as coal, oil and gas and rapid transition to renewable
energy sources like wind.
New Zealand's biggest wind farm, West Wind has been announced
by Meridian Energy on Quartz Hill and Terawhiti Station west
of Wellington. It has been publicly notified and the deadline for submissions is August 10.
Greenpeace urges everyone who is concerned about climate change
to write a letter of support to local papers and the Wellington
City Council and to get active in gathering support for
the project. Other information on the Yes2Wind website will
give you tips on local campaigning for local wind farm projects.
You can get your submission form here
The proposal
The proposal is for about 210MW of capacity from up to 70
wind turbines up to a total of 125m high from base to tip of
the blade. This is a very significant wind farm for New Zealand,
and would easily be New Zealand's biggest wind farm. Generating
enough electricity for 110,000 homes, it could power all the
houses in Wellington, Lower Hutt and Porirua on clean, renewable
wind energy and make Wellington a net exporter rather than
importer of electricity.
Visual, ecological and noise impacts have been mitigated in the design phase by Meridian. The project is stated to have been
designed so no turbines are visible from Makara Beach. Also
no turbines are proposed on the range near Cape Terawhiti including
Terawhiti Hill. The proposal states that the turbines will
emit no pure tonal noise and blades and the generator assembly
have been designed to minimise noise output.
While steps must be taken to avoid, remedy or mitigate local
effects, it is important that the many benefits of renewable
energy to New Zealand are realised and that effective steps
are taken to address climate change. Wind farms are an important
way to achieve this.
Why is West Wind important?
- It would make an urgently needed contribution to tackling
climate change
- It would be the biggest wind farm in New Zealand;
- It would be the most efficient wind development in the
country, due to the huge wind resource of Wellington;
- It would generate enough electricity to power all of the
houses in the Greater Wellington Region; and so
- It would become a flagship for wind energy development,
a prominent icon in our nation's capital for wind energy,
which will be good for future wind energy development, and
which will be good for climate change.
So why should I put a submission in anyway?
If you support a project and want to see it go ahead, then
it is vital that you get your voice heard! We all have a stake
in climate change and in the provision of sustainable energy
for New Zealand.
So get writing now! Write a letter to the editor of your paper
and write to Wellington City Council saying that you
support the project.
Also check out www.Yes2Wind.co.nz for more information on
wind energy and "myth busting" on some of the mis-information
going around about wind energy.
What should I say in my submission?
You don't need to be an expert on wind energy to write a submission.
You don't need to be a Wellington resident either. Everyone's
voice is important!
Just express your views and show your support.
Points that you might like to include:
- Wind and renewable energy development is absolutely essential
to tackle the word's greatest threat: climate change;
- The local impacts of this wind farm development are far
less than other energy sources such as coal, or the impacts
from the devastating impacts of climate change, and can be
avoided , remedied and mitigated;
- This project would allow Wellington to become self-sufficient
in electricity generation and even become a net exporter
of electricity, helping to lead our electricity system to
a sustainable footing and reducing the need for transmission
upgrades to bring power from elsewhere;
- It will become an icon for Wellington and for wind and
renewable energy generation in New Zealand and;
- It contributes towards many Government policies and commitments,
such as;
- International legally binding commitments under the
Kyoto Protocol to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions
to 1990 levels by 2012;
- The National Energy Efficiency and Conservation renewable
energy target of 22% increase from 2000 levels;
- The requirement in the Resource Management Act for
authorities to consider the benefits of renewable
energy development and the effects of climate change;
and
- It is consistent with recent changes to Wellington
Council's District Plan.
The future
Despite having one of the best wind energy resources on the
planet, this country has lagged behind in developing the world's
fastest growing energy sector. This wind farm is an important
step in the right direction.
To drive renewable energy development effectively, the Government
must create stronger incentives and policies and map out a
long term sustainable energy strategy for the country.
New Zealand needs a diverse mix of renewable energy sources,
including large projects such as West Wind, but also smaller
distributed generation located close to demand, together with
energy efficiency and conservation measures to form a truly
sustainable energy system. |
