Wellington City Council granted Windflow Technology consent for a 25-turbine wind farm on the outskirts of Wellington. The consent is now subject to any appeals that may be lodged in the Environment Court.
Submissions on the consent application closed on 26 June 2009. Wellington City Council received 74 submissions, with 38 in support, 27 opposed and nine neutral. A hearing for the application was held in August 2009.
Factors that influenced the Commissioners' decision to grant consent included that the scale of the proposed project would result in efficient use of site's wind resource and enable existing infrastructure - including roads and transmission - to be used. They also noted the site was near to an electricity demand centre that "would benefit from the development of a renewable energy resource that does not produce greenhouse gas emissions."
The proposed Long Gully windfarm could have a capacity of up to 12.5MW, and it will supply its electricity directly into the local power line network.
The wind turbine Windflow is proposing to use at Long Gully, the Windflow 500, is similar in height to the nearby Brooklyn wind turbine, but it has just over double the capacity. The New Zealand-made Windflow 500 is 47 metres high from the base to the top of the blade. Its two blades have a 33 diameter.
Windflow is managing the consenting, construction, turbine supply, and commissioning of the Long Gully wind farm on behalf of Mighty River Power. Mighty River Power is a state owned enterprise (SOE) which operates as an integrated energy generation, trading, retailing and metering business. Mighty River Power would own and operate the wind farm once it is built.
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