Twizel Solar Farm Ltd has applied to the Waitaki District Council for resource consent to install the facility, which would be located just south of Lake Ruataniwha near State Highway 8, at the margins of the district.
The proposed site is a working dairy farm at present, bordering Kellands Pond and within the Rural Scenic Zone, which has a ‘‘particular visual amenity associated with the dominance of open-space vistas’’.
The project would take between two and three years to complete and involve up to 400 people being on site.
Many roles could be filled by local workers, the application claimed.
It was acknowledged that Twizel and Lake Tekapo already had accommodation shortages but the application said demand for worker accommodation created by the solar farm could encourage homeowners to consider renting unoccupied baches.
Once built, the solar farm would have an operational life of 40 years before needing to be decommissioned and would generate enough renewable energy to power about 130,000 homes.
The proposal would ‘‘complement’’ existing hydro-electricity generation in the region and had the potential to ‘‘reduce volatility in the electricity market during periods with low lake levels, as these typically occur following prolonged dry periods where solar farms remain productive’’, the application document prepared on behalf of the solar farm company by consultant’s Core Planning + Property states.
The site is located within the Mackenzie Basin (Te Manahuna), classified as an Outstanding Natural Landscape.
Intensive dairy farming however has degraded much of the ecological value at the site and there is a plan to plant about 5000 native plants, the application states.
Lizards were found along the western boundary of the site on the slope of Table Hill, resulting in those areas being excluded from the application.
Birds of conservation importance used the site occasionally for feeding, including black-fronted terns, but the ‘‘sufficient alternative habitat’’ available within the 3500ha Glenbrook area meant ‘‘any adverse temporary effects of displacing birds during construction’’ was considered ‘‘negligible’’ by applicants.
Twizel Solar Farm is part of solar farm developers Bright Fern Energy, which has projects across Australia and New Zealand.
The site near Twizel is owned by Douglas Robert McIntyre and Waitaki Trustees (Golden Acres) Limited and farmed as part of their wider landholding — the solar farm would lease the site.
The application is also for a substation, battery energy storage system and other facilities.
The proposal would not have any ‘‘noticeable’’ effect on the Dark Sky Reserve, the application states.
The site is located within the tribal rohe of Ngāi Tahu but the site itself is ‘‘not of any specific cultural value’’, the application states.
There were no sites of significance in the immediate area and no archeological and heritage finds during preliminary works.
However Te Manahuna held ‘‘significant cultural values’’ and the Ohau River, Lake Ruataniwha and Lake Benmore were all Runanga areas.
Submissions on the application are open until Monday, July 20.
