Waitati Energy Project co-ordinator Scott Willis stands on
Double Hill beside one of two automatic weather stations
set up by University of Otago students. Photo by Peter
McIntosh.
The Blueskin Bay community north of Dunedin is well on
the way to owning and managing its own renewable source of
power generation.
The next 12 months will be crucial for the community's
wind-turbine project, as recently confirmed funding from the
Hikurangi Foundation means local people have a year to "get
moving" on their dream.
The funding means Scott Willis, who co-ordinates the Waitati
Energy Project (WEP), can work full-time over the next 12
months on "key ingredients" of a site, legal documents and
funding.
In February 2008, the Hikurangi Foundation was set up by the
Todd and Tindall Foundations to fund climate action, with
each contributing $500,000 for two years.
Mr Willis said there was no template for community-owned
power generation in New Zealand, although it had been
achieved overseas.
"We don't have the legislation, policy or cultural habit to
follow. But we believe in the idea that if we don't do
something, no-one else will," he said.
The push for a wind turbine to power Waitati began in 2006
with a community workshop and has continued through various
meetings since.
The Blueskin Resilient Communities Trust was established in
2008 to oversee local sustainability initiatives and divide
the community's efforts into three areas: energy (Waitati
Energy Project), food (Waitati Edible Gardens) and transport
(rideshare, Get the Train, and the East Otago walking-cycling
network).
The group realised it needed to find the best form of
renewable generation for the area, find the best site and
then find the best legal avenues for a community owning and
managing its power generation.
Mr Willis said the WEP recently applied to the Energy
Efficiency and Conservation Authority for funding for a
feasibility study.
The University of Otago has also been helping the Waitati
community.
Dr Nicolas Cullen, a climatologist at the University of
Otago, enlisted the help of a group of his third-year
geography students, comprising Seth Gorrie, Lydia Perkins,
Renee Richardson, Brigette Allen, Charlotte Evans, Ned Wells
and Matthew Curran.
They set up automatic weather stations at two sites on hills
on either side of Waitati and took readings over a six-week
period, then reported to the Waitati community last week.
Dr Cullen said the weather stations were 2m high but wind
turbines could be anywhere between 10m and 30m tall, so the
results had to be viewed with caution.
The wind speeds were lower than a commercial wind site
required but there was "certainly potential" for wind
generation in the area, he said.
Masters student Alice Bowden had taken on the project and
would take readings from a 10m mast over a 12-month period.
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