Contact Energy's Waikato wind farm comes under attack

William, High powered pylons are cancerous and if it was over your house or farmhouse u would complain, further the RMA provides for environmental and visual protection. These 1000+ windmills and pylons will turn beautiful limestone outcropped farming landscapes into the Ukranine. If all is above board then the bloody Aussie owned company should go through the RMA like any farmer wanting to now build a farm road or cut any scrub over 3 metres high. Let democracy prevail, not socialist "rail-roading" as Mallard was well known to support.

As someone who farms in the area this is an appalling abuse of power (sic) and a major desecration of stunning landscape. A similar investment in solar power fitted to every available house, woolshed, haybarn would be far more effective and sustainable without the visual destruction. If anyone thinks tourists will come to NZ to see hundreds of "sky towers" with propellers, think again. This is a ghastly concept and we will be stuck with it for generations!

I fear that Philip is yet another dreamer who has absolutely no idea of the cost per kWh for installing solar power systems, including the provision of back up supply when the sun is not shining. Don't be fooled by overseas develpments which are dependant on very heavy subsidies.

Information revealed last year by Transpower revealed that the wind power stations operate at 1% efficiency when the North Island needs most power on cold still frosty nights. So wind power needs 99% backup.

Nuclear is heavily contentious, especially here, and offers long-term problems. It would also be wholly reliant on foreign technology and engineering, at a moment when many other countries are already making proposals, thus making it harder/more expensive. While an interesting option, there are many simpler solutions in NZ.

Regarding solar, it's both too expensive and doesn't operate at the right times. I remember looking at this when I lived in the UK. While nuclear and gas were estimated at 2.5p - 4p/kWh in 2020, PV solar was going to be around 18p/kWh (based on Sustainable Development Commission data). Peak demand is, as noted, during winter at night time, so you need large amounts of back-up power capacity which defeats the point.

However, we still have plenty of hydro, geothermal, and wind potential. While these may not be palitable for many, they offer cost-effective solutions and can, on the whole, be agreed to. What worries me is how much emphasis wind seems to be getting, but some projects (such as around Wellington, where I live) seem to make sense. Given the sheer amount of wind we get, it seems sensible to develop local power sources which don't require long-distance transmission. While not always pretty, I think having wind turbines beats the coal, gas, or nuclear alternatives (both in visual and long-term environmental considerations).

Now, a mix would be good and we could also use with greater energy efficiency. We're one of the least efficient electricity users and I think we take our abundant natural resources a wee bit for granted, but do have plenty, we just like to complain about new projects. Given that people want more power, we should consider our options, and provide for greater financial recompense to the areas being affected. While I don't mean to sound like a horrid capitalist, if we considered simply putting the cables underground a lot of the complaining would dissipate and we could get back to worrying about the economy.

then you haven't heard about the Turitea wind farm which Mighty River Power plans to build in Palmerston North's water supply, last remaining bush and smothering 14 kms of the skyline inside the city boundary, towering over 2000 houses, one tenth of the city. All the info is here, including links to the most outrageous corruption, and its all to stop "global warming" and suck up to a failed treaty while the earth continues to COOL !!
http://palmerston-north.info