Notified Consent

Meridian Energy Mount Munro Wind Farm

Meridian Energy seeks all necessary resource consents required from the Manawatu- Wanganui Regional Council (MWRC), Greater Wellington Regional Council (GWRC), Tararua District Council (TDC) and Masterton District Council (MDC), for the construction, operation and maintenance of the Mt Munro Wind Farm and associated infrastructure on privately owned rural land and public roads in northern Wairarapa and southern Tararua.

Proposal

In summary, the Mount Munro Wind Farm proposal involves:

• A total wind farm site area of approximately 720 ha, made up of three privately owned farms; 
• Installation of 20 turbines up to 130 metres in height (measured ground to rotor tip) with flexibility to locate each turbine within 100 m from the shown locations (on the site plan);
• Construction of new and upgrading of existing internal roads and tracks;  
• Upgrading of approximately 1.7 km of Coach Road (North);
• Onsite wind farm earthworks of a cut volume of approximately 836,000 m³ with a cut to fill approach taken where possible; 
• Earthworks within the transmission corridor of a cut volume of approximately 8,000 m³ with a cut to fill approach taken where possible;
• The construction, use, and maintenance of one 80 metre permanent wind meteorological monitoring mast, located in one of the two nominated locations;
• The construction, and use of lay down areas, and a contractors area including temporary site offices, ablutions, car parking and storage areas for fuel; 
• The storage and use of hazardous substances;
• Stream works including upgrade of existing, and installation of new stream culverts;
• Vegetation removal;
• Construction related activities including a temporary concrete batching plant, controlled blasting, geotechnical investigation, signage and use of diesel generators; 
• The construction, operation, and maintenance of transmission equipment including:
  • A 17 m high (approximately 3.5km long) transmission line linking the wind farm with the National Grid and connecting at a point line near the intersection of Kaiparoro Road and State Highway 2,
  • The construction of a substation, including control room switch room buildings, an off-site services site, and the general storage of switching gear, insulators and other ancillary items; and
• An anticipated construction timeframe of 18 months is proposed.

Location

The proposed Mount Munro Wind Farm Site is located approximately 28 km north of Masterton, 5 km south of Eketahuna and 13 km west of Alfredton.  State Highway 2 runs to the west of the site in a northeast-southwest direction, and the Wairarapa rail line runs to the east.

Application Details

Pursuant to Section 95A of the Resource Management Act 1991, notice is hereby given that the following application for resource consents has been received. 

Resource consents sought from MWRC:

106151  Land Use Consent for vegetation clearance and soil disturbance, including earthworks in Hill Country Erosion Management Area.

106152  Discharge permit for the discharge of stormwater and contaminants to land that may enter water associated with bulk earthworks

106153  Land use consent for the installation of new, and upgrade of existing fords and culverts.

106154  Discharge Permit (discharge to land) to dispose Excess Fill to land.

106155  Water Permit for the damming and diversion of water associated with the culvert installation.

160167  Discharge Permit for the of contaminants to land associated with dust suppression

106168  Discharge Permit for the discharge of wash water and stormwater to land associated with a concrete batching plant. 

A consent term of 35 years is sought. 

Resource consents sought from GWRC:

31556  Land use consent to undertake reclamation, bed disturbance and placement of structures in streams.

31557  Land use consent to undertake earthworks associated with the construction of the access roads.

31558  Water permit for stream diversion associated with culvert installation.

31559  Discharge permit (discharge to water) to discharge contaminants that may enter water associated with bulk earthworks.

31560  Discharge permit (discharge to air) to discharge contaminants to air from a concrete batching plant.

31561  Discharge permit (discharge to land) to discharge contaminants to land associated with bulk earthworks.

31578  Discharge permit (discharge to land) to discharge wash water and stormwater to land associated with a concrete batching plant.

A consent term of 35 years is sought. 

Resource consents sought from TDC:

202-2011-78-1  Land use consent for the construction, operation and maintenance of the Mt Munro Wind Farm and associated activities, a substation and associated switch room and facilities, a 33 kV transmission line and a services building.  Land use consent is also sought for land disturbance and excavation and for advance warning signs on State Highway 2.

An unlimited duration of consent is sought for the District Council Land Use consent.

Resource consents sought from MDC:

RM120001   Land use consent for the construction, operation and maintenance of the Mt Munro Wind Farm and associated activities, the operation of a temporary concrete batching plant and for the use and storage of hazardous substances.

An unlimited duration of consent is sought for the District Council Land Use consent.

The application and accompanying information may be viewed at the following locations:

Manawatu-Wanganui Regional Council

• Horizons Regional Council Offices, 11-15 Victoria Avenue, Palmerston North
• Or online at www.horizons.govt.nz

Greater Wellington Regional Council

• GWRC Wellington Offices, 142 Wakefield Street, Wellington
• GWRC Masterton Offices, 34 Chapel Street, Masterton
• Or online at www.gw.govt.nz

Tararua District Council

• Eketahuna Service Centre/Library, 31 Main Street, Eketahuna
• Pahiatua Service Centre, 136 Main Street, Pahiatua
• Woodville Service Centre, 45 Vogel Street, Woodville
• Dannevirke Service Centre (Head Office), 26 Gordon Street, Dannevirke
• Or online at www.tararuadc.govt.nz

Masterton District Council

• Masterton District Council Offices, 64 Chapel Street, Masterton
• Masterton District Library, 54 Queen Street, Masterton
• Or online at www.mstn.govt.nz  

A copy of the application can also be found at www.meridianenergy.co.nz.  You can also request a CD-ROM of the application from Mark St Clair, Consultant Planner (04 473 5310) or via email m.stclair@hyc.co.nz.

Submissions

The submission period has now closed. As a result of submissions received, the applicant has requested further time (under s37 of the RMA) to undertake further work with regard to the potential effects of the proposed wind farm. The Hearing has been postponed until November 2013.