Most turbines on grass, court told

TrustPower will site more than 80% of the turbines for the Mahinerangi wind farm on exotic pasture land, and has called a rival power company's proposed condition ''nonsense''.At the Environment Court yesterday, the focus returned to the land after a week's hearing on transmission issues, with the appeal against the wind farm by the Upland Landscape Protection Society resuming.Ecologist Dr Ruth Bartlett said only four wind turbines would be planted on land covered with snow ... ... Complete story »

Wind will play significant part, court told

Wind power will play a significant part, possibly up to 1300MW, in the country's future energy needs, but the coal-fired Huntly power plant will still be in limited service by 2025, the Environment Court heard yesterday.Ministry of Economic Development energy and communications director Stuart Calman told the Environment Court, Government policy was to have 90% ... Complete story »

Bid to stop wind farms

An Otago environmental group has launched eleventh hour legal action against two massive wind farm proposals, just days before an Environment Court appeal against one of them starts. Dunedin-based Upland Landscape Protection Society filed a judicial review with the Dunedin High Court on Wednesday saying the decisions by three councils to publicly notify TrustPower's Mahinerangi wind ... Complete story »

Plan to float wind turbines out of sight

In the future wind turbines could float at sea, if a University of Auckland phD student's research proves positive. Glenfield's Hazim Namik, a mechanical engineering doctoral student, has been sponsored $75,000 by the Government to look into the viability of offshore turbines. None exist in the world so far, and one of the main obstacles is that ... Complete story »

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Kaiwera wind farm ruling delayed at least a month

Trustpower and people living near its proposed 83-turbine wind farm at Kaiwera will have to wait at least a month, probably longer, before finding out whether the project gets the green light from the Gore District Council's hearing commissioners. Yesterday, at the close of seven days of evidence for and against the $380 million project, hearing ... Complete story »

PARTICIPATION REQUIRED

 The LGC is calling for submissions regarding the Mahinerangi area as proposed in the district plan. ULP is encouraging ALL members of the public to have your say by participating in the decision-making process. Please pass this link on to your network so that all who care what happens to their environs get a chance to fully participate.

		Home | News | Proposals | Representation Reviews | Guidelines | Legislative Review | About Us | Resources

	Current Proposals Completed Proposals			Current Proposals I Transfer of Part of Clutha District (Lake Mahinerangi area) to Dunedin City A proposal to transfer the area surrounding Lake Mahinerangi from Clutha District to Dunedin City was initiated by 14 Clutha District electors living in the area. The Clutha District Council and the Dunedin City Council decided, in December 2007, to refer the proposal to the Local Government Commission. Media Release - 28/03/08 55K Map of Proposed Boundary Alteration 643K Make a Submission (submissions close on 29 May 2008) These files are in Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) format. You need to have the Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer. You can download a free version from the Adobe site.
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Deal signed to explore Tararua windfarm site

Seventeen landowners in the Tararua District have signed an agreement with a power company enabling it to further investigate a potential windfarm site. Mighty River Power wants to build a 200-Megawatt wind farm in the Puketoi Range, east of Pahiatua. There are seven wind farms in New Zealand. Phil Champion, who chairs the Puketoi landowners group, says ... Complete story »

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Wind farm may not be windfall

A Gore District Council planning consultant, working on TrustPower's wind farm application, has cast doubt on whether the council would be justified in charging the company the full development levy it was entitled to. In a detailed report to the windfarm hearing panel, Dunedin consultant Allan Cubitt has recommended consent be granted and that calculation of ... Complete story »

The future of power or a large white elephant?

Wind power used to be considered the environmentally friendly alternative to fossil fuels. Bruce Holloway looks at how the hearing into the Te Uku wind farm has changed that view for many people. Romantic notions about wind energy have taken a severe buffeting at the Ngaruawahia hearing into Wel Networks' proposal to build a $200 million ... Complete story »