10. GERRY BROWNLEE (National—Ilam) Link to this
to the Minister for the Environment
Does he stand by his statement that consents for renewable energy projects should be considered on “a case by case basis” by courts and councils and “that’s how it should be.”?
Hon DAVID BENSON-POPE (Minister for the Environment) Link to this
Yes. All projects need to be evaluated on their merits, and that includes evaluating them on a case by case basis. This can be achieved through a normal consent process run by local government, or through the call-in options available to the Government. What it does not mean is taking a completely one-sided approach to large energy projects that would completely disempower local communities. To show the successfulness of this process, I am pleased to advise the House today that following consideration of the views of all interested parties, the Environment Court has approved 66 of the 70 turbines on the Project West Wind wind farm at Mākara.
Why does he rest his hopes on the “successfulness” of that particular approach, when in New Zealand today it is much easier to build a thermal electricity generation plant than it is to build a renewable one; when so many of the renewable projects are stalled through their spending months, if not years, in the court—3 years in the case of Project West Wind—and when costs, which in the case of Project West Wind amount to $120 million, are escalating at an enormous rate? Why, then, does the Minister not take some action to give a bit of teeth to his Prime Minister’s call for carbon neutrality?
Hon DAVID BENSON-POPE Link to this
I do apologise to the member for the invention of that word; “success” would do. I do not believe there is an issue here. I think this Government takes the appropriate attitude towards the Resource Management Act. We have no intent—unlike that party—to tear the guts out of the Resource Management Act, to quote Mr Williamson. The fact is six wind farms have already been commissioned in New Zealand, a further six currently have consents but have not yet been commissioned, and a further 25 are in the planning process.
Hon Marian HobbsHon DAVID BENSON-POPE Link to this
Early in the process, both the territorial local authority and Meridian Energy expressed confidence in the normal consenting process. Therefore, the Government decided not to call in the consent but, instead, to make a whole-of-Government submission in support of the project. I can advise the member that it was not until a matter of days before the consent process was about to begin that Meridian Energy wrote asking the Government to call in the project.
Does the Minister accept that under the current arrangements it would be many, many years before those 25 proposed wind farms were adding to New Zealand’s electricity generation, but that in just the short time of 7 years that his Government has been in power coal use has increased tenfold; and how does that sit with the Prime Minister’s goal of New Zealand being carbon neutral?
Has the Minister noted that the approval process under the Resource Management Act sees thermal energy power stations consented to much more rapidly than renewable energy projects, and that when they are appealed to the Environment Court, the hearings take an average of 18 months to resolve, and usually the project goes ahead; if so, why will he not move to call in renewable energy projects, or can he not see the urgency here?
Hon DAVID BENSON-POPE Link to this
Yes, I do concede that many of these issues are urgent. I will not hesitate to consider and advise Cabinet accordingly if I think the local councils are not capable of running a robust process.
Why has he vaguely talked about developing a national policy on wind power that would give weight to national interest in the longer term, when in the shorter term—from next year, in fact—we start incurring a liability under the Kyoto Protocol for our sky-rocketing growth in carbon dioxide emissions, most of which have come from greater reliance on thermal electricity generation?
Hon DAVID BENSON-POPE Link to this
Because this Government is intent on working with parties, including local government, for good outcomes, unlike National members, who members will recall forced my local authority in Dunedin to sell the Waipori dam. But I am open, as I have said publicly, to developing a national policy statement around renewable energy, should the need for it be identified as a result of the draft New Zealand energy strategy currently under preparation. I remind the member that I recently appointed an independent board of inquiry to hear public views on a proposed national policy statement on electricity transmission. I expect that board to notify the national policy statement shortly. That proposed national policy statement recognises the benefits of, and the need for, a robust transmission network, and reflects the Government’s strong commitment to the development of clean and renewable energy sources.
Why does the Minister persist in saying that everything is OK when last year the Huntly station operated at record levels, those records will be broken this year, and the overall amount of energy produced from thermal electricity and used will be at record levels, and what does that say about his Prime Minister’s determination to make us carbon neutral?
Hon DAVID BENSON-POPE Link to this
My responsibilities, as the member is only too aware, exist around the consent process under the Resource Management Act. I believe that that process is a robust mechanism for balancing conflicting imperatives.