Waiterimu resident Douglas Dobbs says a planned solar farm in the district would destroy the farming landscape.
Three large solar farm projects on Waikato farmland could soon see cattle and sheep replaced by thousands of solar panels dotted across the countryside.
All combined, it could see around 1500ha of land converted to solar energy.
Most of the focus for the solar farms is in the Waiterimu district, northeast of Huntly.
Waiterimu farmer Colin Hickey confirmed he had been approached by a consultant representing multiple companies including Genesis Energy.
Hickey said he was taking a ‘wait and see’ approach on the proposal until more information became available.
Genesis said in a statement it would not disclose locations until all agreements are signed. It said it was looking across multiple regions and will confirm specific project locations when in a position to do so.
“Locations for the solar developments will be mainly in the North Island, with a focus on existing transmission connection points. We are currently assessing sites and approaching landowners and hope to announce our first solar location later this year,” it said in a statement.
However, another local resident Douglas Dobbs claimed one of those sites was adjacent to UK-based Island Green Power’s (IGP) plan to convert 380ha of farmland in the district to solar farming.
IGP is expected to lodge a resource consent for the proposal with the Waikato District Council in the next month.
IGP, through consultancy company Boffa Miskell, sent a letter to local residents in early December and more recently, held a meeting to explain the project to the community.
Dobbs, who attended the meeting, said he was left with more questions than answers.
He said not all of the community received the letter or were informed of the meeting and discovered the project either through neighbours or the media.
“Two people have said to me that they haven’t had any notification from them at all and they are immediate neighbours,” Dobbs said.
Others in the district are taking a ‘wait and see’ approach until more information about the proposal is released, while some are outrightly against it, he said.
While Dobbs supports solar power he believes the district is the wrong location for the project and it would be better suited in areas where there was non-productive farmland.
“It’s a pretty valley and for the life of me, I can’t see how people would just fill it with glass and aluminium and think that’s acceptable,” he said.
He rejected questions that his stance was NIMBYism. The district was a beautiful spot that should be enhanced, not destroyed by solar panels.
“This solar farm could be anywhere in New Zealand and they would have the same problem. The end result is that you’re spoiling the landscape, whether it be my backyard or somebody else’s backyard,” he said.
“I’ve worked here for 44 years and this has to be one of the most picturesque valleys in all my working life.”
The letter said the district had been chosen because of its proximity to transmission infrastructure. The farm would generate up to 150 megawatts of electricity, which could power 30,000 homes.
The solar panels would be mounted two to three metres off the ground and would be able to rotate to follow the sun during the day.
“Given the height of the mountings and the gaps between the panels, the site will continue to be used for agriculturally-productive purposes, such as the grazing of sheep,” it said.
Dobbs disputes this. The district was prone to dry summers and wet winters and he was concerned about potential runoff from the clay soils after a heavy rain event and possible weed infestations around the panels.
IGP chief executive Ian Lawrie, responding by email, said the main concern from initial feedback was the visual effects on the rural character of the area.
“We will take these concerns onboard and we will develop landscaping and planting plans that should address a lot of the visual concerns from specific viewpoints over the site,” Lawrie said.
He said feedback from locals had been both in support and in opposition to the project.
“In a project of this nature, there are always people that are opposed and that is totally understandable. A solar project of this size is new to New Zealand so naturally people are cautious of change and need reassurance about the impact the project will have on the area,” he said.
A common theme from the feedback was potential environmental benefits of the project from reduced effluent and fertiliser runoff, he said.
“The area is an important part of the water catchment of Lake Waikare, which is in poor condition, and we are hopeful this project will have a meaningful impact on eventually restoring the natural condition of the lake,” he said.
IGP planned to make direct financial contributions towards community projects restoring the lake.
“Other particularly encouraging feedback was about our plans to restore areas of native bush and for landscaping in general,” he said.
There were also concerns around security fencing, agrichemicals used for weed control, the solar panel’s carbon footprint and fire risk.
Lawrie said they planned to lease the land off landowners. The land will be reconfigured with new fencing, improved drainage, planting of natives in the unused areas and rows of posts will be installed with solar panels mounted on top, involving job creation.
The farm will also require ongoing operations and maintenance employment, to keep the property tidy, to clean the panels, maintain the underground cables and service the machinery that enabled the panels to track the sun.
The third solar farm proposal has Harmony Energy wanting to convert 182ha of land currently used for dairy farming at Te Aroha West owned by Tauhei Farms Limited.
If approved, it will see the installation of solar panels that would have the capacity to produce up to 147MW of power at peak times, generating the equivalent electricity needed to power 30,000 average NZ homes.
The proposal is awaiting lodgement under the Government’s fast-track consenting scheme introduced to speed up projects to boost the country’s economic recovery from the covid-19 pandemic.
