Matthew Pope, of Gore, races his boat, The Vatican, on Lake
Dunstan last November. The Project Hayes hearing was told
yesterday hydro-electricity lakes provided more benefits
than wind farms. Photo by Rosie Manins.
The public benefits created by the development of
hydro-electric power plants are not provided by wind farms, an
Environment Court appeal hearing for Meridian Energy's proposed
$2 billion Project Hayes wind farm has been told.
Appellant Ewan Carr made the suggestion during
cross-examination of Meridian's eighth witness in the resumed
hearing, Christchurch landscape architect Peter Rough.
Mr Carr asked Mr Rough yesterday whether the development of
wind farms generated spin-off benefits for the public, in
terms of recreational use, as hydro development did.
He cited Contact Energy's Clyde dam as an example of
electricity generation which resulted in the recreationally
popular Lake Dunstan, where people swam, fished, and competed
in water sports and activities.
"Has the Clyde dam had some corresponding benefits that, to a
degree, offset the loss of what was a rugged river, orchard
environment, and parts of an old town?
"There are no such benefits from a wind farm . . . A wind
farm doesn't bring anything else, it just takes away does it
not?" Mr Carr said.
Mr Rough accepted there were public benefits from certain
hydro-electric projects, which came at a cost.
"You could say the Logan Burn Reservoir, for example, is a
visual amenity feature, but that has come at a cost in terms
of flooding what was the largest alpine swamp or bog in the
country.
"So it's not without its ecological and environmental
issues," Mr Rough said.
Mr Carr said wind farms were described by some as "predators
of the landscape". .
Judge Jon Jackson said such a metaphor was not helpful to the
hearing.
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