The Environment has confirmed resource consent conditions for Trustpower’s proposed wind farm in Otago.

The resource consents are for a 200MW wind farm in Mahinerangi, with a maximum of 100 turbines each with a maximum height of 145 metres.

Both Contact Energy and The Uplands Landscape Protection Society appealed the consents.

Although both appeals were dismissed, the court ordered Trustpower to give detailed turbine locations; Uplands will also be allowed to make further submissions on the required layout.

One submission from Uplands rejected by the Court was a suggestion that TrustPower reduce the number of turbines to 40, each of 6 megwatts, or three to four times the per unit output proposed by TrustPower.

Trustpower community relations manager Graeme Purches says this proposal was odd given Uplands’ purported concern over the farm’s visual impact on the landscape.

“The turbines Upland's suggested would be more suitable have enormous 112-metre long blades covering a swept area of 9,800 square metres or two acres and would be at least 15 metres taller, meaning they would have been even more visible, and from even greater distances.

“Apart from the fact there are no cranes in New Zealand capable of lifting these beasts, because of the length of their blades and towers and the weight of the nacelles, there would be no way of actually transporting them to the site.”

Mr Purches says Transpower will assess the economic viability of the project, with a view to having it ready to start when the credit crunch eases.