Genesis Energy has decided to seek resource consent for a wind farm near Masterton in the northern Wairarapa, having already signed land use agreements covering 30,000ha.Genesis already owns the 8.65 megawatt Hau Nui wind farm in southern Wairarapa and ha
Genesis Energy has decided to seek resource consent for a wind farm near Masterton in the northern Wairarapa, having already signed land use agreements covering 30,000ha.
Genesis already owns the 8.65 megawatt Hau Nui wind farm in southern Wairarapa and has been assessing the Castle Hill wind farm site since early 2009.
The company expects to lodge the resource consent application by mid-2011 – containing details on turbines, site layout, construction and operation activities – following community consultation.
The company, whose 1448MW Huntly thermal power station can provide up to 20% of New Zealand's energy, has a target to build 300MW of renewable energy generation by 2015.
Wind monitoring at Castle Hill pointed to potential generating capacity of up to 600MW, although the number of wind turbines, and their location and size, had not been decided, Genesis chief executive Albert Brantley said.
Genesis has signed agreements with 27 owners of land at the site, with around 4000ha suitable for wind farm development, he said.
Once decided and approved, it would take several years to build the wind farm.
The site lies across two district boundaries and two regional council boundaries: Horizons Regional Council and the Tararua District Council; and the Greater Wellington Regional Council and the Masterton District Council.
