The answer to powering the South’s low-carbon economy could be blowing in the wind.
When the Southland District Council, early this month, said it would return its unspent portion of $3.16 million in Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) money and abandon plans to build two wind turbines on Stewart Island, the news ran counter to a growing optimism for renewable energy and the wind energy sector.
It was a moment of "deep, deep sadness" for Dunedin climate and energy consultant Scott Willis.
"What a lost opportunity," Mr Willis said.
"If not Stewart Island, where could you do something like that?"
Several years ago, Mr Willis was on the losing end of a 2017 Environment Court decision that dashed a plan to build three wind turbines, for $5 million to $6 million, on Porteous Hill, on the coastal side of the Kilmog section of State Highway 1 north of Dunedin.
The project clashed with the Dunedin City Council’s resource consent processes and then sank when neighbours said it would ruin the view.
But now Stewart Island had a clear reason to shift to wind power and it was the right time to do it, Mr Willis said.
Electricity is generated on Stewart Island through diesel generators that consume about 360,000 litres of diesel a year.
When the Government announced the PGF funding in 2019, it said residents paid on average about three times as much as people on the mainland for power.
Environment Minister David Parker said the cost of electricity hindered business on the island, but also, diesel generators did not align with the island’s potential as an environmental tourism destination.
The council said its Stewart Island project was dropped because an agreement could not be reached with landowners on a site to build the wind farm.
But it was dropped amid calls from the Climate Change Commission for a rapid expansion of wind energy.
"Everybody says that we need a massive, massive uptake of wind energy in New Zealand," Mr Willis said.
"There are no more river valleys to flood, there are competing demands for water.
"Solar power only works with battery storage and is part of the mix but can’t do it.
"And geothermal has emissions associated with it.
"So, really, if we are to decarbonise, we have to see wind, and we have to build many, many more wind farms."
The Climate Change Commission, in its draft advice out for consultation until March 28, said wind generation should jump from about 2TWh now to 23TWh in 2050.
New Zealand should expand its renewable energy base to about 95% by 2035, it said.
The advice came as wind farms were becoming more affordable.
Wind turbine costs had steadily dropped over the past 10 years, falling between 44% and 64% since their peak from 2007-10, the commission said.
New Zealand Wind Energy Association chief executive Grenville Gaskell said that in the medium term, the Climate Change Commission was forecasting 13.3TWh of wind generation by 2035.
Current consenting issues the sector faced could be ironed out through the Resource Management Act reform under way, Mr Gaskell said.
But it was often a perceived loss of landscape amenity that led to a community resisting wind farm development.
Apart from Stewart Island, Mr Gaskell said he was not aware of any issues with gaining landholder agreement, because with wind energy landowners received royalties, and the footprint of turbines were small.
Normal business, typically farming, could continue under the turbines, providing two revenue streams for the landowner.
And in New Zealand, wind was plentiful, he said.
The majority of new wind farms were expected in the North Island, but more than a quarter would be built in the South Island.
