A public interest group has withdrawn its appeal against a large-scale wind farm near Gore, but the power company behind the $400 million project says the New Zealand exchange rate needs to improve before construction can start.
The Upland Landscape Protection Society's decision clears the way for the Eastern Southland wind farm, one of two such developments planned by TrustPower.
The other, at Mahinerangi, also has approval, but must wait until the New Zealand dollar lifts again to make buying turbines cost effective.
The society yesterday informed the Environment Court it was withdrawing its Kaiwera appeal, but that did not stop TrustPower's community relations manager, Graeme Purches, from criticising the group and accusing it of wasting thousands of dollars of ratepayers' money by objecting to wind farms then withdrawing those objections after months of hearings and legal threats.
The society's spokesman, Ewan Carr, did not return calls yesterday.
But Mr Purches confirmed TrustPower had been formally told, through an email from the society, it was pulling out of the legal fight against the Southland project.
"We now have a resource consent and that's the end of it," he said.
But the low dollar meant it was not economic to buy expensive turbines from overseas just yet.
TrustPower and others were also putting off wind farm construction until the Electricity Commission reviews its policy of imposing hefty charges on new generation operations by South Island power companies to maintain and operate the main grid power line throughout the country, most notably, the Cook Strait cable.
Mr Purches said it was unfair for companies like TrustPower to pay for the line's upkeep when the majority, if not all, of the electricity generated by its Mahinerangi and Kaiwera Downs operations would "never cross the Strait" and probably be used very close to their source in the lower South Island.
The commission is expected to revisit that policy this year.
Meanwhile, Mr Purches took one last swipe at the way the society had handled itself throughout the Kaiwera hearing process.
"It has been a complete and utter waste of everybody's time and money from the word go."
The Environment Court and other agencies had consistently rejected the society's arguments yet it chose to continue through the expensive legal process.
Despite having tens of thousands of dollars awarded against it, Mr Purches said the society had no financial resources at its disposal.
He also hoped the Government's planned revamp of the Resource Management Act would stop groups like the society from "wasting everyone's time"
At a glance
Features of the Kaiwera Downs wind farm:
•Location: 15km southeast of Gore, 10km east of Mataura.
•Spread over 2568ha.
•Maximum of 83 turbines, with a maximum turbine height of 145m. Maximum installed capacity of 240MW.
•Cost about $400 million.
•Hearing attracted 65 submissions - 27 against, 25 in support and 13 neutral.
•Will be built in two or three stages over 10 years.
•Location of turbines to be finalised nearer construction.
•Meridian Energy's White Hill wind farm is more than 100km to the northwest, near Mossburn. Wanaka-based Wind Prospect CWP (NZ) Ltd hopes to file a resource consent application with the Southland District Council this month for its planned 50-turbine, $390 million development, 15km east of Wyndham.
