Palmerston North property owners face a massive loss of equity. 2,000 houses are right underneath Mighty River Power's gigantic wind farm proposal.

For the latest on this stunning fraud click on "HOME" 

May 2009



Click image to
enlarge.


NB to increase the page size of this web site and the numerous links simply hold down the control key with your left hand and roll the wheel on your mouse forward.
Submissions are now in.
..........



Take a look at the submissions of the minority 20% who favour the Turitea scheme. Many are from people and their relatives who have a vested interest and plan to exploit the city and their neighbours' misery for financial gain. Look too at the quality of these submissions. To say that they are pathetically weak is an understatement!

Congratulations to the Green Party Aotearoa
New Zealand for taking a strong stand.


Congratulations too to the 6 City Councillors who have had the courage and
integrity to submit against the scheme. This is an unprecedented action by more than one third of the Council, which has 16 elected representatives, none of whom submitted in favour.


Click the link below to view submissions.

http://www.mfe.govt.nz/rma/call-in-turitea/submissions/index.html
Passing the buck.
Ponder this.
Council votes for the wind farm,
BUT
Leaves the mess to be sorted out by RMA Commissioners.
BUT
MRP pressures the Government into a Call-In (Did PNCC lawyers see this coming?)
WHICH
Stifles opposition as the process is now very formal and intimidating.
LEAVING
The mess to be decided by a Board of 5,
and the Council distancing itself, making a “ neutral” submission with the onus now placed on their chosen experts.
AND THE WINNERS?
The lawyers and PNCC now looking like “honest brokers” who can then lay the blame on others if this ridiculous project is ever approved.

Are you happy to see this wind farm foisted on your city ? The panorama at the top of this page, has until recently, been kept secret. Taken from the Kingsgate hotel opposite Pak n' Save the nearest of 131 forty story ( 125 metre ) turbines is just 7.95 km away. Note the image omits all power pylons and has been deliberately set at a very low resolution.

So Mighty River Power will knock off just 9 turbines.16/1/2009
http://www.wind-watch.org/news/2009/01/16/wind-farm-needs-robust-debate/
So what ! Big deal !!!!
This is their strategy to make themselves appear at the very last minute "reasonable and concilatory." Only by knocking off the remaining 122 will they achieve this. All that's happened is that this disaster has simply moved from being a total disaster to a monumental disaster.


Get ready to make an opposing submission if you value the environment, the future of this city and your amenity and property values.Consider too how vitally important it is to protect the city's water supply and landscape values. Submissions can be made from 24 January to 23rd February 2009.


The latest
Submission forms can be accessed and printed right here.
http://www.mfe.govt.nz/rma/call-in-turitea/information-sheet.html
Click here for further information:


Turitea wind farm proposal
Wind farm on the fast track; Minister says city council shouldn't decide because it can't be impartial

Editorial Having our say is what matters.
Palmerston North City Council will likely oppose some turbines in the Turitea Wind Farm, despite being contractually involved with the power company, city mayor Jono Naylor said 22/12/2008 http://www.windaction.org/news/19255
Sick of waiting while the Turitea Wind Farm hangs in limbo,
the Palmerston North City Council and Mighty River Power (MRP) are pushing
ahead
.
Click for details

Turbine consent process proceeds; Government change delays Turitea Wind Farm call-in move 14/11/08
Note.
Paragraph 13.9 in the document, 'Alteration to Purpose of Turitea Reserve and Amendments to Management Plan Council Decision Adopted 30th October 2006', states:

Council officers advised that the nearest turbines will be approximately 1.5km from the nearest property.

There is no clarification on whether this relates only to turbines in the Reserve. Thus, it is reasonable for the reader and obviously the Councillors at the time, to believe that this statement applied to the project as a whole. Councillors at the time would have presumed that this distance would provide some amenity protection for residents, even though such an offset distance is woefully inadequate for the size and scale of the project proposed.

Presently, a council employee is in the process of giving written permission to Mighty River Power to use Turitea Reserve for Mighty River Power's industrial scale wind generation project. The partial protection offered by an offset of 1.5km from any property must be included in the written permission (designation) to curb the predatory colonisation of the reserve and surrounding private land by Mighty River Power, who has revealed itself to be a greedy and mercenary organisation. Nearby, property owners must ensure that the 1.5km offset distance is not conveniently overlooked.

MRP is determined to ram this project through.

Audio of radiolive
interview

3/9/08 with MRP CEO Doug Heffernan and a wind farm objector.
Note that Heffernan claims the Turitea scheme is similar in size to Meridian's Te Apiti wind farm(90 MegaWatts)when in fact it is four times bigger @ 360 MegaWatts.
LUSH~Mighty River Power's new Kawerau geothermal power station up and running Doug Heffernan, CEO of Mighty River Power, followed by Paul Stitchbury, detractor of wind farms in Manawatu. 03-Sep-2008. (NB this is the actual link from this webpage -it has now been completely disabled - the entire page has been copied for reference to be presented to the Board of Enquiry along with a summary of the interview.)
http://www.radiolive.co.nz/AudioArchive/tabid/109/language/en-US/Default.aspx?filtdt731=6&cat=2

( note on or about the 15th February 2009 RadioLive's podcast archive was hacked by either MRP or their associates and this podcast was deleted. Attempts are under way to recover this "very sensitive" interview. Furthermore all efforts to delete this website have failed. It should be noted that the website has been saved and copied in a variety of secure locations. This website usually ranks between 7 and 14 in google searches for "Palmerston North", which is quite an achievement. Revelations in the national media 17/2/09 show that a wind farm application has now become a by-word for corruption. See the last comment in this post.)
With MRP arrogantly refusing to withdraw the attempt to call in the project it shouldn't surprise anyone that what Heffernan said about the wind farm can be interpreted as a lie.

Is this socially responsible behaviour by an SOE ?


Rumours are swirling
A polite request to Mighty River Power who visit this site regularly. Could you please issue a public statement to either confirm or deny rumours that you have made a payment to Tanenuiarangi to not oppose the Turitea wind farm. The payment is apparently in the order of some millions of dollars. Has Tanenuiarangi sought a mandate to represent Rangitane on such matters? In the Environment Court in the case of the appealed Motorimu turbines Jonathan Procter made such a claim. It was revealed in the Environment Court that Tanenuiarangi had received payment from Motorimu Wind Farm limited and this was not challenged. If MRP has indeed attempted to buy out local Maori opposition, then this saga has reached a new low. This statement will be removed if a categorical denial by MRP is made public.

This comment has been online for months without a response. We encourage MRP and Tanenuiarangi to contact us to clarify this matter.




DOC sells out on the environment for a paltry $175,000 dollars. Has this happened here? See:


Manawatu Standard editorial 9/10/08.


The former Labour Government planned to declare war on the city ?


Congratulations to Councillors who have stood firm against the bullying tactics of MRP and unanimously rejected out of hand any attempt to call in the Turitea scheme. Councillors who are clearly deeply concerned about the impact of the Turitea disaster on the city have put MRP on notice that no more nonsense from them will be tolerated. MRP employees at the meeting weren't exactly smiling as Councillor after Councillor berated the SOE.

NB, MRP's Mercury Energy is feeling the heat too.

http://msn.nzherald.co.nz/section/466/story.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=10535262

By going behind the Council's back to Mallard to short circuit community involvement MRP has broken its contract with the Council, in particular the very spirit and intent of the contract. Commercial contracts have foundered on much lesser infringements.
Letter by S. Frost
published in the Manawatu Standard 10/9/08



S Frost's submission on the National Policy Statement On Renewable Electricity Generation, which shows how local residents are severely disadvantaged.

NB. S Frost's important observations have also been posted as a comment - see comment number 6

Congratulations to the Manawatu Standard for its strong editorial stance in support of the right of wind farm victims to be heard under the conventional RMA process.

Horizons is failing to protect the environment - MRP is exploiting this weakness. See the 4th comment
in this post for a scathing review by a researcher published in the Manawatu
Standard 2/12/2008.

This is what the city faces as a result of the partnership PNCC has entered into with Mighty River Power.

This is the view from the top of Fitzherbert Avenue.This is the only image from the city that " made it " into MRP's public display. Click this image from MRP to enlarge. As you can see there are gaps which can be " filled in " later if the wind farm is approved. The photomontages deliberately play down the reality.They are highly selective. Note the only photomontage from the city put on display was a tree shrouded one. Here you can see just 9 turbines, there are 122 more. 71 are in front of the reserve. The turbine bottom right is one of a large cluster dominating all of Summerhill, The Turitea and Kahuterawa Valleys and Ngahere Park.

This web site provides information to the reader who wishes to make a submission against the Turitea wind farm. The site is owned by deeply concerned individuals. It is not connected with TAG ( Tararua Aokautere Gardians ) or FOTR ( Friends of the Turitea Reserve ) but we recommend that you support these organizations. The future of the city is at stake and as huge sums of money are involved for personal safety reasons we prefer to remain anonymous, however, you can contact us for help in making your submission by using this email address:
Inappropriately located wind farms are drawing attention around the country.Put your speakers on and check out : http://puketiro.org/
A very important decision
The Environment Court's Motorimu decision ( 1/10/08 ) makes it near impossible for the Turitea scheme to proceed, especially on private land."People come first"
Click here for details
Mighty River Power has lodged its resource consent application with PNCC.
Information now available online.
Start with the proposed wind farm layout. You can easily calculate the distances to houses.

Credibility on the line.
MRP literature repeatedly states that the wind farm
is
approximately 10km south east of Palmerston north. This statement is not
correct. The proposed wind farm is inside the city boundary. For the city to be 10km from the nearest turbine the
city boundary would have to end
somewhere
near the BP service station in Rangitikei street.
In
reality Pacific Drive is 2 kms from the wind farm.
The Fitzherbert bridge is
5kms away.
MRP and its partner
PNCC are
morally obliged to correct this
bare faced
lie.

On 1 November 1989, New Zealand local government authorities were reorganised. Palmerston North City boundaries were extended to include Ashhurst, Linton and Turitea.
Online map of PN showing the city boundary goes to the top of the Tararuas and includes the Turitea reserve: http://geoguide.palmerstonnorth.com/
Enlarge the size of the photomontages to get a more accurate view. Note these turbines are 15 metres taller than those at Tararua 3 which are a considerable distance away, yet miraculously they appear "smaller" Note also that the montage from Old West Road deliberately omits 80 turbines, which have been consented at Motorimu and which MRP are said to be buying. Also omitted is the large cluster at the top of Turitea Road right over Pacific Drive. All the photographer had to do was cross the road in order to include them. MRP did not put all their photomontages on display during their brief public " consultation " at the Convention Centre, a display which consisted of a small semi circle stacked with MRP employees. Full page newspaper ads did not provide either a site plan or photomontages, just a few wispy clouds.
More photomontages have been added by MRP. They are dramatic.

They have no intention of holding public meetings.

Mighty River Power plans to build up to 131 wind turbines in Palmerston North's Turitea Reserve and on neighbouring properties.

A disaster unfolding
See the Environment Commissioner's report.

"In a
nutshell"


  • Rare native bird habitat threatened, falcon, whitehead etc.
  • 30kms of wide roads through the reserve and neighbouring land act as highways for mustelids and other vermin, making a mockery of the "Eco Park " concept.
  • Turitea dams likely to suffer from accelerated erosion. The city can not afford to replace them.
  • Quality of our water supply under further threat at a time when half the world does not have safe, potable water.
  • The landscape mutilated and industrialized in contravention of Horizon's Sustainable Land Use Initiative (SLUI), which aims to contain erodible landscapes, the Tararuas included, from raising the region's river beds.

  • The city forced to continue developing on the flood plain of the Manawatu river. No person aware of the noise and visual pollution, or the economic consequences for them personally, will be likely to invest in a dwelling on the Summerhill side of the river.
  • Potential for a calamitous fire. A fire is the greatest threat to the bush in the Turitea Reserve and Hardings Park . It would take at least a century to recover. The Turitea is only now recovering from a fire that occurred two centuries ago.
  • Property values cratered, particularly on the Summerhill side of the bridge. This will translate into a higher rates burden for the Western side of the city at a time when PNCC is having great difficulty in controlling its expediture.
  • The city becomes an international laughingstock.

  • 37 landowners benefit enormously at the expense of the whole city. The developers and land owners will simply cut and run.

  • Confidence in due processes, the Government and PNCC seriously eroded.

  • Trivial economic benefits once the wind farm is built. No money can repair the city's damaged image.

  • The flawed " science" of global warming being touted as a reason for unprecedented vandalism of our local environment.

  • Operating wind turbines can not feed the grid when there is a blackout as they need live current fed into them in order to function.
  • No consideration is being given to energy conservation, solar water heating or passive solar design for houses.
  • All money earnt as "rent" for the use of the Turitea Reserve as a wind farm can only be spent on the reserve and can never be used to reduce rates. There is no benefit to the ratepayers of this city at all, in fact the reverse is true with the loss of amenity and property values.
Potentially how many turbines will smother the Tararuas behind the city?

Te Apiti 64 built
Tararua 1,2,3 134 built
Te Rere Hau 97 approved and under construction
Turitea 131 seeking consent
Motorimu 80 approved


Total 506

Te Rere Hau extension, resource consent yet to be applied for.Total 37 http://www.nzwindfarms.co.nz/publications/nz-windfarms-to-seek-resource-consent-for-te-rere-hau-extension
The Tararua ranges in the Manawatu have become the nation's environmental dumping ground while the Waitakere ranges have recently received the highest level of protection from this type of irresponsible development.
Waitakere Ranges Protection Society
The Society's fundamental goals are:
To protect Auckland's western forest and coastline from degradation and to promote its conservation.
To enhance environmental values and restore disturbed areas to ecological health.
To see the region managed and nurtured by a unified and consistent philosophy of protection.
To provide an unequivocal voice speaking for this area of exceptional natural heritage.

APRIL 23rd,2008.The Waitakere Ranges Heritage Area Act was passed by Parliament with Royal Assent. http://www.legislation.govt.nz/
The Tararuas require the same level of protection.

http://www.waitakereranges.org.nz/
Full story from the Manawatu Standard 17/7/08, plus comments.
Wind farm at Turitea moves closer

Mighty River Power plans to build up to 131 wind turbines in Palmerston North's Turitea Reserve and on neighbouring properties.
The state-owned company confirmed yesterday it will seek resource consents for the wind farm, which could potentially generate up to 360 megawatts of electricity for the national grid, enough to power 150,000 houses
. In our opinion this is misleading information because Mighty River Power (MRP) has not added “when the wind is blowing at optimal speeds”. When there is no wind, as there has been frequently, the turbines cannot supply any houses. Consistent wind speeds at the northern end of the Tararua Forest Park make the site potentially "one of New Zealand's most successful wind generation developments", according to Mighty River Power.
The Tararua 3 Vestas turbines, which are at a lower elevation than most of the proposed MRP Turitea turbines are, judging by the frequent visits by huge cranes, having serious maintenance problems after less than a year in operation. Let's be honest here, is this all about generating carbon credits to get the government out of the hole it threw itself into by signing up to Kyoto?
Applications for resource consents will be heard by independent commissioners.
Mighty River Power development manager Stuart McDonnell said the company will host
information days about the project in the Palmerston North Convention Centre next week and the following week. For a grand total of just 24 hours all up. Why are MRP not holding public meetings in the evening? Is this all about trying to keep the horrendous impact of their scheme below the radar? Does the information time slot in the middle of the working day enable MRP to tick the community consultation box without becoming embroiled in any controversy? The Manawatu Standard has previously reported that up to 60 turbines could be put in the Turitea water catchment.
It's understood that most of the planned 131 turbines would be on private land.
The High Court ruled a year ago that the reserve could be used for renewable electricity generation.
The controversial plan - a joint venture between Palmerston North City Council and Mighty River Power - involves using revenue generated by the wind farm to create an eco-park
. The "eco-park", the Turitea Reserve, already exists but access by the public will, as now, not be permitted under any circumstances. Is the Eco-park a concept dreamed up to act as a sweetener to seduce the supposedly gullible public into accepting a monstrous industrial installation on the city’s doorstep? Giant flailing blades greater in diameter than the wing span of a jumbo jet are not compatible with the birdlife in an eco-park. Council business development executive Mike Manson said the park would be about the size of Kapiti Island. Is
the concept of an eco-park acceptable compensation for having the entire skyline behind Palmerston North covered in monstrous wind turbines in places almost half the height of the range itself ? Not to mention the exacerbation of declining residential property values within the city and surrounding area?No more than 25ha of the reserve would be used for the wind farm, he said. 10, 25, or 50 hectares makes no difference to the enormous visual impact this project will have on the ranges/ hills that form the backdrop to Palmerston North. In addition the audible noise envelope is likely to create a nuisance to a large part of the city during easterly winds.The council would engage with the Department of Conservation to develop an eco-park strategy. This is a tacit admission that no one knows what the "eco-park" is , or even where it is.
"Scoping" has been done on the practicality of re-planting areas of the park and re-introducing endangered native species, he said. Already a very large area of regenerating bush under stunted pines has been cut down to make way for the "highways" needed for access.Mighty River Power bought a 19.95 percent stake in Windflow Technology last month but it is not expected to use Windflow's two- bladed turbines in the Turitea development.
The company made "progress payments" worth hundreds of thousands of dollars to the council
as hurdles were cleared.
Should these progress payments be called bribes? Are the "hurdles" those who oppose this madness?
There were also helicopter rides for councillors. Hope they had a nice time.The High Court ruled, however, that a contention of bias failed and that renewable electricity generation was a legitimate council purpose. Actually, PNCC's legal responsibility and very purpose for existing is to look after the interests of its own citizens. The “Variation in the Wind Farm Agreement” requires PNCC to do all it can to ensure the project with MRP proceeds. How can PNCC protect the amenity interests of its residents? Was this all a done deal before the consultation to change the status of Turitea Reserve, i.e. what contracts were signed with MRP prior to the consultation? Mighty River Power's information days will be held at the Convention Centre from Tuesday to Thursday in the next two weeks, 10am to 2pm. When everyone is at work - MRP is trying to slip this disaster under the radar.
Below is a list of sites worldwide dealing with the adverse effects of wind turbines.
A small American town's unhappy experience with an established wind farm.
Life Under a Wind Plant (Part 1). Click here for Part 2 and Part 3 .
THIS MUST BE STOPPED !

PNCC and the goverment have sold this city down the " river "

( definition: "to sell someone down the river" =
to do something which harms or disappoints someone who trusted you, in order to get an advantage for yourself.
Cambridge International Dictionary of Idioms )

Expect the value of houses to decline by a minimum of 20% below normal market trends if they are within a 4 - 5 k radius of a wind farm, if indeed they can be sold at all. International experience supports this statement. A property devaluation on this scale is unprecedented and will spill over into the city at large. The city is small, no city property is immune.
Gareth Morgan 17/9/08 on what the economy faces.
How long before some property owners in PN have negative equity? Property values in the Western world are falling. http://msn.nzherald.co.nz/section/3/story.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10524617

Negative equity here aleady for those who have put down less than 15%. Add another 20% if you are in the wind farm zone - if you can sell. http://msn.nzherald.co.nz/section/3/story.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10526178

There is talk of the current recession turning into a hyperinflationary depression.
How many people will deliberately choose to live under a wind farm?
From the Daily Telegraph 26 July 2008

Excerpts from the Telegraph article

UK home owners who live near wind turbines could see thousands of pounds wiped off the value of their properties after a legal ruling.The warning comes after Jane Davis was told she will get a discount on her council tax because the value of her
£170,000 home has been reduced by a turbine 1,017 yards away.The ruling is effectively an official admission that wind farms, which are accused of spoiling countryside views and producing a deafening roar, have a negative effect on house prices."
Mrs Davis said: " for people living near wind farms, both now and in the future, it will be a disaster"
Now the noise generated by the turbines is so severe ...... that it has left the Davises unable to sleep.They currently live in a rented house a few miles away.
The Davis's kept a log of the nights that their steep has been affected - 231 disturbed nights out of 243.

" We have suffered such extreme sleep deprivation because of this that we have had to abandon our home," said Mrs Davis, 52. " We can't sell it because of the noise, it is like torture "
Estate agents acknowledge that the house, worth £170,000 before the wind farm was built, is so severely blighted that no one is likely to buy it.

A recent Youtube video interview with people affected by noise and flicker. Coming to a hill near you if PNCC and Mighty River Power get their way.
Energy companies don't care. Their management teams don't live here in Palmerston North. Locals near a wind farm proposal are cynically described not as NIMBYS but as NAGS ( naive and gullible )




The city has been misled about the impact of the wind farm

This map below shows the location of the 131 , 125 metre (40 story) 3 megawatt turbines - see the dots. It comes from an MRP handout available to the public. It is clear that the turbines are very close to residential properties.The map is completely out of date, omitting all residential development on the Summerhill side of the river. Turbine flicker will be an insurmountable problem for many properties to the east and west of the turbines in the mornings and evenings.

Manawatu and Wanganui house prices decline 14% in June.

"The biggest regional median price decline is Manawatu and Wanganui, down 13.81 per cent from $248,000 to $213,750."
http://msn.nzherald.co.nz/section/3/story.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10522446
"The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors estimates that the price of a house
located close to a new turbine falls by 20 per cent, if the owners are able
to sell it at all." February 2008
Ashhurst resident's lives made a misery by wind turbines.
( NB All property on the Summerhill side of the city is within the noise envelope of the proposed Turitea wind farm.)
KATHY WEBB - The Dominion Post Wednesday, 09 July 2008

Family to measure wind farm 'misery'
An Ashhurst family have been asked to record noise from wind turbines they say are making life a misery.
The Brock family, who have complained about loud noise and low-frequency sound from Meridian Energy's Te Apiti wind farm since 2004, say Meridian has now sent them a recorder and microphone to use on days the turbines are especially noisy.
Wendy Brock said the recorder would catch the roar of the turbines during strong easterlies, but would not register the low-frequency sound that sometimes wrecked her family's sleep for weeks on end.
The low-frequency noise - known as infrasound - comes up through the wooden floor of her family home
2.5 kilometres from the nearest of 55 turbines, and manifests itself as a throbbing beat in the ears, chest or spine.
"We had a really bad January and February," she said. "May was not too bad, but usually, July is a shocker."
Meridian had promised her the turbines would not be any louder than waves on a shore.
In its application for the wind farm, Meridian said "the effects of the noise from the wind turbines at the boundaries of the site are ... considered to be no more than minor".
However, a survey by Robyn Phipps, a senior lecturer in building technology at Massey University, found that households living more than
10 kilometres from Te Apiti and other turbines in the Tararua and Ruahine ranges were also disturbed by their noise.
National noise standards did not measure infrasound or take into account atmospheric effects, cumulative noise or the nature of wind turbine noise, Dr Phipps told a hearing for the Motorimu wind farm near Palmerston North last year.
Meridian spokeswoman Claire Shaw said every complaint about turbine noise was taken very seriously.
Very few complaints had been received about Te Apiti, she said. Meridian had commissioned an independent report last year that concluded all noise from Te Apiti was within national standards.
Yes, you can complain, but this will identifiy your property which will make it very hard to sell. The Brock case is only now being dealt with 4 years after the first complaint. Don't expect anything to happen though. The energy companies do not want to buy victim's properties.http://www.windaction.org/news/16737

Poaka Beck House, near Askam, Cumbria, UK .
The owners of this home in the Lake District of England successfully sued for damages because the sellers did not disclose their knowledge that an industrial wind power facility was going up near by. Do property owners , in particular those on Polson Hill and the Pahiatua track, have even a clue what will tower over them if this disaster is approved ?
Palmerston North is a great place to live, centrally located with excellent facilities and infrastructure. We love our city. However, it is under threat from a proposed massive wind farm encompassing the city's entire eastern flank. 2,000 residences are right beneath Mighty River Power's 131 forty story turbines. 10% of the city's population, 7,542, live in those 2,000 houses. ( 2006 census ) Furthermore a 600 section subdivision is planned for the top end of Pacific Drive and another 2,000 section suburb at the bottom of Kahuterawa Road. Wind turbines certainly have their place in the renewable energy mix and residents have readily accepted the initial developments . Unfortunately, the cumulative effects of Mighty River Power's proposal will tip the balance.The Turitea Reserve which is a haven for rare and endangered native birds and also the city's water supply is the site for 60 of the turbines.

The remaining 71 are on private land IN FRONT of the reserve. Nowhere else in the world has anyone ever attempted to place wind turbines so close to so many people and houses.The proposed turbines will dominate and tower over homes from Polson Hill on the Pahiatua Track through to the Kahuterawa Valley.
Citizens need to be ready to protect their amenity rights and the saleablilty of their property from this environmental, social and economic travesty. The purpose of this web site is inform you how to do this and to keep you abreast of developments as they occur.
These Tararua 3 turbines are 15 metres shorter than the Turitea turbines.
Would you place them as close as 50 metres and 640 metres from dwellings ??

Credits: Jonathan Cameron, Manawatu Standard .

Bookmark this page and share it with others.

Things you can do.


Become informed about the issues. Explore the links below.

  1. Visit http://www.rmaguide.org.nz/rma/index.cfm where you can find out how to make an effective opposing submission under the Resource Management Act.



  2. For a balanced legal opinion on cumulative effects .http://www.qualityplanning.org.nz/pubs/Dealing-with-cumulative-effect-under-the-RMA.pdf



  3. Read the Local Government Act 2002 which clearly sets out PNCC's obligations to the community. http://www.localcouncils.govt.nz/lgip.nsf/wpg_url/Resources-Glossary-Index#PurposeofLocalGovernment



  4. The city is built on a flood plain. A wind farm will stop development on higher, safer ground. This brochure was distributed throughout the city . http://www.horizons.govt.nz/Images/Publications/KeepingPeopleSafe/City%20Reach%20Newsletter%20Long%20Version%202007.pdf



  5. Link to Horizon's Sustainable Land Use Initiative which aims to control erosion on our landscapes, the Tararua Ranges included. http://www.horizons.govt.nz/default.aspx?pageid=70

    Click the link below for a sample of the problems faced by people living near wind farms in the UK / NZ. An excellent submission covering.
1.Property values destoyed.
2.Unbearable noise.

3.Total indifference by local authorities.


4.Residents conned and disenfranchised.


5.Total loss of amenity.


6.Communities fragmented by devious tactics and the corrupting influence of money paid to ensure projects go ahead.
Memorandum by Jane and Julian Davis (9 June 2008)
Memorandum by Peter Hadden ( 16 June 2008 )
www.parliament.uk/documents/upload/EA269%20PJH%20H%20of%20L%20Sel%20Comm%20Final%2016June2008.doc

Just listen to the noise which is driving people from their homes in the US. Note that the recording is made upwind from the turbines.


http://www.windaction.org/videos/15829

Communities wrecked.

http://www.windaction.org/videos/15781

A visual summary of the problems turbines cause.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doU20jzKdRk

Our water supply, native bush, privately owned pine plantations and rural residential homes threatened by turbine fires such as this one.

http://www.windaction.org/videos/14886

Many more submissions here. http://www.parliament.uk/parliamentary_committees/lords_economic_affairs/eaffwrevid.cfm
Wind farm developer deceives residents. A property owner speaks out(Posted July 1, 2008)
http://www.windaction.org/faqs/16612

Wind turbine syndrome.


ABSTRACT From Dr Nina Pierpont's peer reviewed research, available online from January 2009
This report documents a consistent, often debilitating, complex of symptoms experienced by adults and children while living near large (1.5-3 MW) industrial wind turbines, examines patterns of individual susceptibility, and proposes pathophysiologic mechanisms. Symptoms include sleep disturbance,headache, tinnitus, ear pressure, dizziness, vertigo, nausea, visual blurring, tachycardia, irritability,problems with concentration and memory, and panic episodes associated with sensations of internal pulsation or quivering which arise while awake or asleep.The study is a case series of 10 affected families, with 38 members age 0-75, living 305 m to 1.5 km(1000 to 4900 ft) from wind turbines erected since 2004. All competent and available adults and older teens completed a detailed clinical interview about their own and their children’s symptoms, sensations,and medical conditions before turbines were erected near their homes, while living near operating turbines, and after leaving their homes or spending a prolonged period away. Statistically significant risk factors for symptoms during exposure include pre-existing migraine disorder,motion sensitivity, or inner ear damage (pre-existing tinnitus, hearing loss, or industrial noise exposure).Symptoms are not statistically associated with pre-existing anxiety or other mental health disorders. The symptom complex resembles syndromes caused by vestibular dysfunction. People without known riskfactors are also affected.The proposed pathophysiology posits disturbance to balance and position sense due to low frequency noise or vibration stimulating receptors for the balance system (vestibular, somatosensory, or visceral sensory, as well as visual stimulation from moving shadows) in a discordant fashion. Vestibular neural signals are known to affect a variety of brain areas and functions, including memory, spatial processing, complex problem-solving, fear, autonomic effects, and aversive learning, providing a robust neural framework for the symptom associations in Wind Turbine Syndrome. Further research is needed to establish prevalence and to explore effects in special populations, including children. This and other studies suggest that safe setbacks will be at least 2 km (1.24 mi), and will be longer for larger turbines and in more varied topography.
http://www.windturbinesyndrome.com:80/?p=675

Do wind turbines live up to the claims made about them ?


For the latest on this shocking fraud click on "HOME" 

German turbines which were mangled recently
in a storm.


Will yet another wind farm here " save
the planet " or will the Government's carbon trading scheme simply line
state coffers at your expense?
Claims that wind farms are needed to alieviate "climate change" ( the euphenism for " global warming" ) and so save the world just do not stack up.

World temperatures have not increased since the El Nino event of 1998 and over the last seven years have actually declined to where they were in 1995. IPCC computer modelling of climate change is in doubt. Many AGW scientists have now put off any increase in warming for another decade, citing natural factors. The minute amounts of the trace gas CO2 in the atmosphere, while increasing, do not appear to have any measurable effect on the world's climate. Just 3-4% of the CO2 added to the atmosphere annually is generated by human activity, the rest is from natural and uncontrollable sources. Compelling arguments against catastrophic warming are emerging, it is an ongoing debate. For opposing views see.


NZ scientist Professor Bob Carter talking sense on climate change - video.
also a 4 part video examining Science & social aspects of climate change
Many more here.
The eco-news website "Climate Debate Daily" http://climatedebatedaily.com/ is very useful as it presents the information in two columns. The LHS is "Calls to Action" which is predominantly global warming hysteria and dross, while the RHS is "Dissenting Voices" which is predominantly serious and reliable climate change information. Both sides are added to at the average rate of one new article per day.
El Ninos, La Ninas, Australian droughts and the climate.
http://mpegmedia.abc.net.au/newsradio/audio/20080707-franks.mp3
Did anyone listen or did vested interests rule the day ?
DomPost Thursday, 10 April 2008Climate change forecasts 'invalid' - researcher
Karori researcher Kersten Green has told MPs there was no need to pass the Government's Climate Change (Emissions Trade and Renewable Preference) Bill -- because global warming forecasts are unscientific.
Dr Green, the author of a peer-reviewed paper auditing the forecasting methods of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), opposed the bill because he claimed it was based on "invalid climate forecasts".
He told Parliament's finance select committee that authors of the IPCC fourth assessment report provided sufficient information to observe predic tions violated 72 of 89 accepted principles of forecasting. There was insufficient information to judge how closely a further 51 principles had been followed.
"Some individual principles that were violated are so important that violation of any one of them alone invalidates the IPCC's forecasts," he said.
These IPCC forecasts drew on six years of research by 2500 scientists from more than 130 countries, and said global warming was "unequivocal" with human activity more than 90 percent likely to blame for an increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide, to 379 parts per million (ppm), up from 280ppm before the Industrial Revolution.
They warned that by 2050, there is very likely to be loss of high-value land, faster road deterioration, degraded beaches, and reduced farm and forestry production in southern and southeastern Australia and parts of eastern New Zealand. The w armer temperatures and decreasing water resources would increase the burden of some diseases, and global sea levels would rise 59cm this century.
Professor Scott Armstrong, of Pennsylvania University -- who wrote the global warming forecast audit with Dr Green -- put in a written submission to the committee, claiming they had been unable to find a single "scientific" forecast of global warming.

" The precautionary principle argues that uncertainty is a basis for action; if one lacks knowledge, then some action should be taken—just in case. This happens when interest groups identify an issue that can help them to achieve their ends. If the interest group is successful in lobbying for an issue, politics replaces science, and government dictates follow. It brings to mind the slogan on the Ministry of Truth building in George Orwell’s 1984: “Ignorance is Strength.”We believe that proper scientific principles will lead to better decisions than will political principles, and that people will be better off if politicians have the courage to resist calls to action when uncertainty is high."

The latest paper from Dr Green (December 29 2008 ) shredding IPCC forecasts.

"Averaged over all horizons, IPCC errors were more than seven times greater than errors from the benchmark. Relative errors were larger for longer forecast and backcast horizons."

Benchmark forecasts for climate change:

Dr Green's web site.
http://kestencgreen.com/

----------------------------------
A comprehensive demolition of global warming fears and emissions trading.
VISCOUNT MONCKTON GIVES SENATOR McCAIN A LESSON ON CLIMATE CHANGE
In this 4-part link, Viscount Monckton, in an open letter to US presidential candidate Senator John McCain, treats the Republican candidate to a longish but very readable, and convincing lesson on the whole issue of "global warming" and emissions trading, which ought to be required reading for politicians everywhere. When you get to the end of each section, click on "Continue reading" to take you to the next section.

A personal journey from an AGW believer to confirmed sceptic with very detailed supporting evidence.
http://www.greenworldtrust.org.uk/Science/Curious.htm


Check out the latest world temperature graphs.
All four of the world’s major surface temperature data sets show seven years of global cooling.
The world has never seen such freezing heat
Politics and the economic " climate "
See the third comment in this post where Bryan Leyland argues against the Emissions Trading Scheme in an article published in the Dominion Post 11/11/2008
Pre-industrial CO2 levels were about the same as today. How and why we are told otherwise?
By Dr. Tim Ball Wednesday, December 10, 2008 ( linked here with the express approval of the author )
There’s a lot of rich people backing this cause
A former lawyer for Enron, shocked to discover that his main job would be to help draft a global warming treaty, tells spiked that censorship and conformism are preventing proper investigation of climate change hysteria.See the fourth comment in this post for the full expose.


See the fifth comment for the unabridged version of this article published 8/12/2008 in the Dominion Post or click the link above.

The media is doing a poor job of reporting on climate change. Here is one recent example 10.12/2008 in the Guardian.
The Skeptics Handbook.
The Boston Globe examines climate facts.
Whatever your views on this subject a wind farm in our water supply and dominating our city will not make a scrap of difference to the climate but will certainly ruin our local environment and exacerbate the general decline in property values and saleability throughout the city.

Geographic spread needed


Wind farms in the pipeline greatly exceed projected national electricity demand. Many more wind farms are proposed for Wharite, the Puketoi ranges and a very large one between Linton and Shannon.
Placing too many turbines in the Manawatu increases generating inflexibility. They have to be spread geographically to overcome intermittency and increase reliabilty. This will not be achieved by errecting more turbines in the Manawatu.

Exciting new developments are waiting in the wings.
NZ Herald April 15, 2008
Green light for Cook Strait energy generator trial
Approval has been given for a marine energy trial in Cook Strait, which the project's backers believe has the potential to provide more than the country's current generation capacity.
Neptune Power has been granted resource consent for an experimental turbine capable of producing 1MW of power in 80m of water 4.5km off the south coast of Wellington.
Chris Bathurst, a director of the two-year-old Christchurch company, said installation of the tidal stream turbine could begin next summer.
"When we first started this people said it wasn't technically possible. Then they said the fishermen would never allow it."
But Bathurst said when the plan was outlined in meetings with stakeholders, including fishing groups and Forest & Bird, objections were overcome.
Greater Wellington Regional Council's approval of the trial last week was "big news", he said.
Bathurst, an engineer, and Neptune co-director David Beach, a physicist, have been working on the project for three years.
Bathurst's calculations suggest there is enough tidal movement in Cook Strait to generate 12GW of power, more than one-and-a-half times New Zealand's present generation capacity.
But tapping that energy would cost billions of dollars.
Neptune isn't disclosing financial details of the project, except to say technology providers and electricity network companies will be given first options to invest.
Bathurst would like up to a third of the value of the venture to be open to public investment.
An "awful lot of people" had already expressed interest, including a potential investor from China who emailed Bathurst within hours of resource consent being granted. Neptune is confident of the economics of the Cook Strait project, and will use the experimental turbine to study effects on marine life and the general seabed ecology.
A condition of the resource consent, granted for 10 years, is that Neptune submit an annual report to the council based on its observations. With the turbine in 80m of water, lack of sunlight will mean marine growth won't be an issue.
Neptune has been talking to lines company Vector about making use of the trial turbine's power - enough for about 500 homes.
SEA POWER
* Installation of a $10m tidal stream turbine in Cook Strait could begin next summer.
* Cook Strait has the potential to generate 1.5 times NZ's total existing generation capacity, Neptune Power says.
-----------------
The city is built on a flood plain. The foothills, a sensible place to build, has three main elements, housing, a city water supply and an ecologically sensitive reserve.

These uses are not compatible with a massive industrial installation.

The Tararua ranges and foothills south of the Pahiatua track to Linton provide not only a landscape of very high regional importance but also a safe, flood free area for residential and rural residential development. There are already 2,004 dwellings ( 2006 census ) on the Summerhill side of the bridge from Aokautere to Linton and development is continuing apace. The city is built on a flood plain. Wind farm development on the ranges behind the city will have very adverse effects on future development and on the property and amenity values of those who live there currently ( 7,542 - 2006 census , that's 10 % of the city's population )

Natural hazards and the location of Palmerston North.

Sound reasons why a wind farm within the city boundary , in our water supply and in a rapidly developing secure residential area ,contradicts basic risk management strategy and is a foolish idea. The foothills of the Tararua ranges behind Palmerston North are quickly developing as a residential area. Their backdrop is the Turitea Reserve which forms part of what is acknowledged by Horizons as a landscape of regional importance. Palmerson North city is for the most part built upon the flood plain of the Manawatu River. Extensive earth works have been undertaken over the recent past to secure as best as is possible a large area of very valuable real estate from a catastrophic flood. The late summer floods of 2004 demonstrated once more how vulnerable the Manawatu is to a significant rainfall event. Had the weather system dumped its rain just 20 -30 kms eastwood the city would have been in danger

There have been catastrophic floods and storms in the past which predate "global warming" and which if they were to occur again today would put the city at risk. Manawatu-Whanganui could be up to 20% wetter with more varied rainfall patterns and flooding could become up to four times as frequent by 2070 according to one AGW projection.

Cyclone Bola caused extensive flood and wind damage in March 1988, and Cyclone Gisele sank the Wahine in April 1968. They were both examples of decaying tropical cyclones. So too was the great storm of February 1936, which has largely fallen from popular memory, but was arguably the most damaging storm to strike New Zealand in the last 100 years. Palmerston North was hardest hit. Houses lost roofs, chimneys were blown over, and the grand stands of the A&P Association, the Awapuni Racecourse,and the sports grounds were demolished. A man was killed when he was blown off his roof as he was trying to repair it. Hoardings, fences, and brick walls were blown over. Twenty-eight trees came down over the main power lines in a 120 metre stretch of road. The Manawatu River rose five metres and flooded theTaonui Basin, turning it into an inland sea. A train was derailed near Makerua, just south of Palmerston North. The last two carriages and the guards van were caught by a gust of wind and thrown down a bank into the Makerua swamp. Empty railway wagons on sidings at Levin and Linton were blown over and the small railway station at Karere was destroyed. Fallen trees blocked the line between Levin and Otaki,and passengers had to cut through them with axes before trains could pass. At Longburn, the Anglican church was demolished and scattered over the road and railwayline. A horse on a nearby farm was cut in half by a flying sheet of corrugated iron. The Feilding Aero Club hanger was blown away and the two planes inside it destroyed.


The huge floods of 1880, 1897, 1902, were they to occur today would be a disaster for the city as the forest cover and swamps which existed at the time to slow the passage of the water no longer exist. So the danger of floods is one compelling reason for developing the Tararua foothills for residential purposes.

The other factor to take into account is the vulnerability of the city to earthquakes. Much of the soil in the lower lying areas is river silt which is particularly prone to liquefaction. PNCC has identified a number of buildings which are potentially a significant risk. Earthquakes are a given in this part of New Zealand and the " silent " earthquake which occurred in 2004 -5 lowered the Manawatu by up to 30 mm. This occurred without any one knowing it. Here is what was reported in the local newspaper.The Manawatu and Wanganui regions are sinking, according to GNS Science.At the plate boundary far below the earth's surface, the region is about 350mm lower than it was two years ago, Hugh Cowan, research manager at the Earthquake Commission said. The slip at surface level is between 10mm and 30mm, he told nzherald.co.nz. The land around Ashhurst, Wanganui and Dannevirke slipped very gradually between January 2004 and June 2005 as a result of "silent quakes", the Manawatu Standard reported. It would require an earthquake of magnitude 7 to cause the slip in a few seconds, the scientists said. Manawatu-Wanganui region emergency manager Mark Harrison said the slip reported in the latest Earthquake Commission newsletter Ru Whenua highlights the need to be prepared for an emergency. "This is a timely reminder that we live in a very hazardous region of New Zealand," he said.NZPA snipurl.com/15gw5

Altering Natural Events


A popular approach to dealing with hazards, or the potential effects of disasters, is to try and alter or otherwise contain or prevent the natural event. For example, barriers can be built to contain floods within river channels, divert avalanches away from villages, or prevent storm surges encroaching beyond sand-dunes. Clouds have been seeded to induce rain and break droughts or to dissipate the energy of a hurricane, although such attempts are more experimental than practical. Attempts to release tectonic strain and therefore prevent severe
earthquakes have been made in USA.
The main problem with this approach is that the measures are far from reliable. For example, embankments (stop-banks) in New Zealand may prevent floods of moderate size and frequency, but sooner or later they are breached and/or overtopped when a major flood occurs, as at Paeroa, 1981; Mataura 1978; Opotiki, 1964; Whakatane 2004, Manawatu 2004; and many other places.
In the meantime, stopbanks encourage intensification of human settlement in the path of the eventual flood.This problem is illustrated in Figure 8 for the area in Palmerston North affected by flooding from the Mangaone Stream. See page 12
The cross-section through Mangaone Stream shows the way in which stop-banks have enlarged and the stream artificially deepened in response to each major flood starting in the 1920's.
Thus, as for post-disaster relief, pre-disaster measures that try to modify the cause or effects of a natural event may reduce some losses from smaller natural events, yet actually increase the natural hazard and with it disaster potential with respect lo larger more rare events.
The long term future of the city is at stake. For what were once logical reasons the city was built beside the Manawatu River, but if the opportunity presented itself again, with what we now know of the natural hazards facing the city, it would be built on elevated land on the Summerhill side of the city right beneath the Tararuas. Remember Hokowhitu was once a large swamp area fed by the Manawatu River. A huge wind farm will leave the city sandwiched between " hell " and "high " water and as the above academic paper says, the measures taken to protect the city, will in a catastrophic flood, eventually fail. A prudent review of what basic geography and geology can teach us can save the city from a disaster. Still as one poster, ThermalGeneration said...
"Who cares about Palmerston North anyway?"
Well we do.
What comes first, a wind farm or a city ???
Wind generation facts.
I It's very obvious from this graph that energy production fluctuates wildly at the windiest time of the year in the Manawatu. Peak demand in the hours from 5pm to 10 pm during the winter months has had a dismal contribution from Manawatu wind farms. For the last three years during these peak hours in winter when electrical energy demand is highest the three Manawatu wind generation facilities have produced at less than 1% of their installed capacity.

Wind farms are not about reliable electrical generation. So why is an SOE like Mighty River Power attempting to sacrifice local amenity values on the altar of renewable energy generation?????? To claim that additional wind generation in the Manawatu increases reliability and security of supply is a joke at the expense of local residents.



Representation of electricity production over 24 hours, showing base, intermediate, and peak loads -- only peak load plants are able in most places to respond sufficiently quickly to variations in wind energy production. The Manawatu is already over-represented in intermittent wind energy production. Turbines have to shut down in high winds. This causes additional wear and tear on componentry.
Wind in California was unable to meet peak demand when it was needed most. It's no different here in the Manawatu.
A week of wind energy production in German Eon Netz grid -- huge swings. Similar variability in output is the norm here in the Manawatu. Thermal backup is required to be on hot standby. No wind farm or combination of wind farms has replaced a conventional generation facility anywhere in the world.
The Halkema report is an authoritative examination of the viability of wind generated electricity.
http://www.countryguardian.net/halkema-windenergyfactfiction.pdf
LESS FOR MORE: THE RUBE GOLDBERG NATURE OF INDUSTRIAL WIND DEVELOPMENT:


BC WORLD SERVICE Thursday 5 June 2008One Planet – Carbon Trading Ep 1/2Thursday 5 June 10.30-11.00am BBC WORLD SERVICE


Major flaws in carbon offsetting, the UN's main mechanism for dealing with climate change, are investigated in this One Planet two-parter.

Carbon offsetting allows the developed world to offset its carbon emissions by paying for emission-cutting projects in the developing world. Integral to this is the "additionality" test whereby the developing world projects must show that without the additional (carbon-credit) money, the projects would not, and could not be, implemented.

If these projects would have taken place in any case, then no emissions are being saved and millions of dollars will have been wasted.

Presenter/Mark Gregory, Producer/David Edmonds

Here is a link to the podcast.

See also


Carbon trading in
trouble


GAO Unable to Verify Effectiveness
of International Carbon Markets
December 2, 2008
WASHINGTON – The
Government Accountability Office today released its report about the European
Union’s Emissions Trading Scheme and international carbon offset scheme, the Clean Development Mechanism. GAO found that the available information on the Emissions Trading Scheme could not substantiate either emissions reductions or clear economic benefits, and that negative economic effects could occur if the European Union further reduced emissions allowances.
In July 2007, following news reports raising questions about the cost-effectiveness and integrity of the ETS and CDM, U.S. Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and U.S. Rep. Ed Whitfield, R-Ky., then-ranking member of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, asked GAO to examine the experience to date of the ETS and CDM. U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., ranking member of the Oversight and Government Reform Domestic Policy Subcommittee, also joined the request.
The Republicans wanted to know how well the two markets
actually control greenhouse gases and whether available information substantiates the net benefits of the programs. They also sought GAO’s assessment of lessons from the international experience that might apply to upcoming congressional deliberation of carbon-energy rationing or reduction schemes.
“As European nations attempt to deal with the hardships of the current economic crisis, the harsh reality of carbon-energy rationing schemes is hitting home. Across Europe at this moment, environmental technocrats’ plans for larger emissions reductions and restraints on carbon-based energy supply are literally melting away in the heat of economic reality,” Barton said. “This report identifies some of the potential risks and concerns about regulatory cap and trade and related rationing schemes. It further underscores my concerns that we should not follow Europe’s course as it creates potential economic disaster for its citizens.”
“The GAO’s studies of both the European and
domestic carbon emissions reduction schemes have raised serious doubts about their effectiveness,” Issa said. “The federal government certainly shouldn’t spend taxpayer dollars on uncertain and unverified benefits until critical questions are fully answered.”
“The GAO report indicates that enacting a cap
and trade system in the midst of a recession would only further harm our economy,” said U.S. Rep. John Shimkus, R-Ill., current ranking member on the Energy and Commerce Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee. “In addition, the
whole idea of a cap and trade system isn't a proven method of actually reducing
carbon emissions. The American public will end up the victims and will have to pay more for energy and many other products.”
A copy of the report
can be found
here
Carbon Credits: Another Corrupt Currency?
The 10,000 turbines in the US generate less power than a single coal-fired plant
Industry forced to
admit environmental benefits of wind power only half of what previously
claimed
.

Wind farm benefits
'overstated'
21 Dec 2008

So if so called wind farm "CO2 reduction benefits" have been exposed as lies, as in the UK, does this mean that to have similar " benefits " here there would need to be 1,012 turbines on the hills behind the city and not the projected total of 506 ??
So will this also mean that they will stop clear felling the CO2 absorbing pine forests which are currently well below the existing turbines, or are they being felled because of the fire risk ??
Impact on the land - images from Tararua 3


The person in the distant background is approx 1.9 metres tall.


Published Date: 30 August 2008 By Jenny Haworth
Environment Correspondent
A LEADING power company has claimed wind energy is so unreliable that even if 13,000 turbines are built to meet EU renewable energy targets, they could be relied on to provide only 7 per cent of the country's peak winter electricity demand.
E.On has argued that, during the coldest days of winter, so little wind blows that 92 per cent of installed wind capacity would have to be backed up by traditional power stations.It argues this would require new coal-fired power stations to be built so they could be used in an emergency when little wind blows.This, E.On suggests, will mean that, to meet renewable targets of 20 per cent of energy being provided from renewables by 2020, the UK's installed power base will need to rise from 76 gigawatts today to more than 100GW.The company estimates this could cost £100 billion.
The Scotsman online.
Wind forces Texas power cuts.
The US waking up to the pitfalls of wind farms.
December 8, 2008
President-elect Obama has said that he would promote “wind farms” as one way to create more jobs. This idea is consistent with popular wisdom about wind energy and, therefore, sounded good while Mr. Obama was in the Senate and during his presidential campaign. The problem for Mr Obama now is that this popular wisdom is wrong. Contrary to reports issued by various wind energy advocates, “wind farms” provide few energy, environmental, or economic benefits and create very few jobs – far fewer than could be achieved if the money was used for other investments. Also, wind energy has adverse impacts that advocates like to ignore.
More here:http://scienceandpublicpolicy.org/images/stories/papers/reprint/obama_wind_energy_plan.pdf
Alarm bells ringing
in Britain.
22 Nov 2008
An area the size of Wales would need to be covered in wind turbines to meet just a sixth of the nation's daily energy needs, according to a new study that has cast doubt over the Government's push for wind energy.
Professor David MacKay, a physicist at Cambridge University, said ministers would have to look at other forms of alternative energy, like tidal power, if they were to meet their ambitious renewable energy commitments.
Ministers have pledged to provide 20 per cent of the country's energy from renewable sources by 2020 and have relied on wind energy to provide almost all of the capacity.
By analysing the average power output possible from wind turbines and comparing it to the amount of land needed to house each turbine, Professor MacKay believes wind farms will need at least five times more land than has been previously estimated.
His research has raised further doubts over the viability of the Government's push for wind power.
Critics insist that wind energy is too unreliable to replace the creaking network of fossil fuel power stations and would require an extensive network of back up power stations to provide energy on calm days.
Wind farms have also faced intense opposition from rural campaigners who say the huge turbines, which can be up to 400 feet tall, are spoiling the countryside and pose a risk to wildlife.
Professor MacKay, who has published a new book that examines a range of different renewable energy sources, insists he is a strong supporter of wind energy.
His calculations show, however, that current plans to build wind farms with a capacity of 33 gigawatts offshore would produce only enough energy to provide each person in the UK with 4.4 kilowatt hours of energy per day.
He said: "The average energy used per person in the UK is 125 kilowatt hours per day. To achieve even 20 kilowatt hours per day per person it will require enough wind turbines to cover an area the size of Wales.
"It is an incredibly large area and with the difficulties in getting planning, it is hard to imagine how it could be achieved. The government needs to look at some of the other options such as tide energy. We need a plan that adds up."
Professor MacKay's calculations will alarm opponents of wind farms who fear the countryside is already blighted with unsightly turbines that are failing to provide a reliable alternative to fossil fuels.
Wind farm developers already rely upon extensive subsidies to help them earn a profit and energy experts fear paying such subsidies for technology that is already in use is stifling development of alternative sources of energy.
There are currently more than 189 wind farms, with 2,136 turbines, in operation around the UK. According to the British Wind Energy Association, the body that represents the wind industry, another 173 wind farms, are either being constructed or awaiting construction.
Plans for a further 266 wind farms are being considered by planning authorities.
This may possibly solve all the western world's energy needs.
http://www.nss.org/news/releases/pr20080909.html

Submissions on the Kahuterawa Outdoor Recreation Area draft management plan closed August 13th, 5 days after MRP lodged its application for a resource consent. This timing is no coincidence.
The plan - see link below - draws attention to the opposition to wind turbines in the area.

Note, as of 4/11/08 access to this online
document has been denied. No surprise as to why.
The latest on the plans for the Kahuterawa area. 15/10/08
NB The John Love quoted at the end of the news release is a wind farmer whose property dominates the Kahuterawa valley and Ngahere Park subdivision. The Kahuterawa stream is an important trout spawning stream for the Manawatu river, already it has suffered sedimentation as the result of careless roading development on private land. The proposed wind farm poses a major threat.



Wind turbines block radar.
( An issue for Palmerston North airport and Ohakea )

ROYAL DUTCH SHELL has become the second big energy company to abandon the UK wind-energy sector in the last month.
Shell, Danish firm Dong Energy and Scottish Power have cancelled the £800m Cirrus Array project off the northwest coast after five years and millions of pounds in investment.
The consortium blamed Ministry of Defence concerns over radar interference from turbines.Less than a month ago, Shell denied a Sunday Times report that it had exited the project. However, on Friday the company confirmed that it had no plans for further investment in the UK wind sector.

The left hand doesn't know what the right is doing.
See quotes from this Government submission 28 August 2008.

Central Wind windfarm
Ministry for the
Environment
Government submission
While supporting the proposal because of its national significance the Defence Force has concerns about the potential for radio frequency interference from the windfarm to affect military communications in the area. The issue has arisen recently and is the subject of ongoing consultation between the Defence Force and Meridian.

Wind is an intermittent source, and this intermittency needs to be carefully factored into the electricity systems operations. However, the Central Wind windfarm will also promote a reliable electricity supply through its geographical location. Most of New Zealand’s wind generation at present is in the Manawatu. Spreading windfarms across New Zealand reduces the risk of disruptions to the electricity supply if the wind is not blowing at a particular location.


Well at last something we can agree on.

http://www.mfe.govt.nz/rma/central-wind/html/appendix1.html