The windmills were expected to reach up to 40 stories high and supply electricity to the national grid. Photo: 123rf
Residents in an Auckland rural town say they have been blindsided by a wind farm slated for development on their road.
The Waiuku Wind Farm project is awaiting approval through the consents process under a law brought in to fast-track projects and boost recovery after the pandemic.
It just squeaked in, its backers applying for fast-tracking under the temporary law barely a month before it was repealed in July.
The wind farm was proposed for a 560-hectare site just south of scenic Karioitahi Beach, around 10 minutes out of Waiuku.
The windmills were expected to reach up to 40 storeys high and supply electricity to the national grid.
They would be 500 metres from some homes. Farmer Suzanne Day said that was too close.
"I'm not opposed to wind farms at all, it's just in the right places where they can't affect people that are already there, established, and have lives."
She said the proposed fast-tracking was news to residents, and they should have been part of the process from the beginning.
"That's all we would want to have, is have a chance to say, 'Well, hang on - this is what we think, we didn't have a chance to decide on this, can we please have our say?'"
Day said the turbines could have dire consequences for her horse-trekking business.
"Basically now I cannot conduct my business - as well as my personal life - on my farm, and also my water table, the noise, as well as the visual, and it goes on, and on, and on."
Another concerned neighbour said most locals had been "blindsided" by the proposed build.
"We asked for fair consultation, and this is just something that has been pushed through, it seems, as an election bribe."
Franklin ward councillor Andy Baker said wind farms in the area had been a long-debated issue.
"Windfarms in Waiuku go all the way back to 2005, or about then," he said.
"They've always been contentious. There was quite a strong position to the original proposal by Genesis Energy, way back - it doesn't surprise me there's some anxiety, it's long existed out there."
He said the developers needed to start talking to residents and hear their concerns.
"By not communicating, you instantly have people wondering, 'well, what are they trying to hide?'
"A project like this, surely, is for the benefit of the country - what is the harm in communicating with people, being open, transparent about it?"
Developer John Southworth of investment company LET Capital Number 3 Ltd said he wanted to engage with the community when he had all the information he needed.
"We're committed to engagement. When we have information that's clear, we can communicate that to the residents and work in a meaningful way to get feedback from them and put that into the melting-pot of information, to come up with a solution."
If the application for fast-track consenting was allowed, the consenting panel was then required to invite comments from local residents, iwi, council and other affected parties before making its decision.