Kaihiku Wind Farm Project partners Pioneer Energy and Manawa Energy held their latest round of community outreach sessions in Clinton and Warepa this week, attended collectively by about 40 people.
The 300MW project is expected to cost $900million and provide electricity for 135,000 households when commissioned.
It could comprise as many as 73 turbines of up to 215m in height, extending along a range of hills in Kaihiku, paralleling State Highway 1 from Balclutha to beyond Clinton.
Contact Energy joined the project by buying out Manawa Energy in July this year, becoming a 50% stakeholder.
Pioneer chief executive Peter McClean said the latest round of community meetings had been informative for all parties.
"Key areas of interest were what to expect in terms of visual, noise, traffic and ecological impacts.
"Community members were also interested in the potential benefits of the development, including job creation, and what it could provide in the way of community funding."
Mr McClean said the project would contribute to the country’s renewable energy transition, and support regional economic growth and development.
"This project is a fantastic opportunity to strengthen security of supply locally and nationally," he said.
"Our project team has completed the bulk of the technical work that informs the practical ins-and-outs of the project, and is sharing information and updates with landowners, neighbours and key stakeholders in the community in preparation for the project’s fast-track consent application next year."
He said the project would take about five years to develop and build, if approved.
"It will take around two years to get everything ready to break ground, and then we’d expect around three years of construction before becoming fully operational."
Contact’s acquisition of Manawa followed a roadblock to its own southern wind farm project at Slopedown this year.
In March, the energy giant suffered a setback in its goal of building the $1billion, 300MW Southland Wind Farm near Wyndham, after a consent panel decided it could not go ahead due to environmental and other concerns.
Contact has indicated it is continuing to pursue that project.
