Resource Consent Applications for the Castle Hill Wind Farm

Approval for the Castle Hill Wind Farm is required under the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA). On 1 August 2011, Genesis Energy lodged resource consent applications for the Castle Hill Wind Farm (“CHWF”) project with Tararua and Masterton Districts’ and Horizons and Greater Wellington Regional Council’s. These applications were accepted by all four Councils’ as being complete on 19 August 2011. The applications were publicly notified on 29 August 2011 with submissions closing on 26 September. 102 submissions were received.

The hearing

A joint council hearing commenced on 28 November 2011 for eight days and a further four days commencing on

24 January 2012. The hearing panel consisted of three independently appointed commissioners representing all four councils. They are Mr Philip Milne, Mr David McMahon and Mr Roger Lane.

Following the adjournment of the hearing on 27 January 2012, Genesis Energy submitted its final evidence, right of reply and closing legal submissions on 20 February 2012.

The key areas of focus at the hearing included potential effects on rural amenity, effects from rotor ‘tip height’, traffic matters and community consultation.

Preliminary decision

Whilst the hearing process remained open, the Commissioners released a preliminary decision on 13 April 2012 which set out their preliminary findings and provided Genesis Energy the opportunity to respond and provide further information if Genesis Energy wanted to.

In response, Genesis Energy requested the Commissioners issue a final decision based on the comprehensive information already before them. The Commissioners closed the hearing on 18 May 2012.

Genesis Energy Castle Hill Wind farm Newsletter 5 – August 2012

The Castle Hill Wind Farm council hearing has now closed and a decision granting consent has been released.

Welcome to the fifth Genesis Energy Castle Hill Wind Farm newsletter.

The Castle Hill Wind Farm Project

Genesis Energy is proposing to establish and operate the Castle Hill Wind Farm in northern Wairarapa. The proposed Castle Hill Wind Farm involves up to 286 wind turbines with a potential nominal capacity of up to 860MW of renewable electricity generation.

Commissioners at the joint council hearing in Masterton, November 2011

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Final decision

The final resource consent decision was released on Tuesday 12 June 2012. That decision grants all consents sought by Genesis Energy for the Castle Hill Wind Farm. However, it places limitations on the project including turbine scale, proximity to external boundaries, and excluding a section of the internal transmission line.

The resource consent application documents, all information that has been tabled at the hearing and the decision documents are available on the Horizons website.

Appeals

On 29 June, the Castle Hill Wind Farm Community Action Group and the Alfredton School Board of Trustees together with the Alfredton Educational Trust appealed the whole of the decision and all of the conditions and requested that the applications be declined in their entirety.

On 2 July 2012, Genesis Energy lodged an appeal with the Environment Court against specified conditions imposed by that decision.

The conditions appealed by Genesis Energy relate to the reduced development parameters and several other technical matters imposed by that decision.

Further information about the RMA statutory process and timeframes can be found at www.mfe.govt.nz.

genesisenergy.co.nz

08/12

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Amy RennellGenesis EnergyFREEPOST 232530PO Box 17188 GreenlaneAuckland 1546

Please feel free to give us a call or drop us an email if you have any questions or would like any more information on the project.

0800 GEN WIND (0800 436 946)

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castle.hill@genesisenergy.co.nz

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Main point of contact

Genesis Energy Castle Hill Wind farm Newsletter 5 – August 2012

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Where to from here

With appeals having been lodged, the Environment Court will oversee case management, including any mediation and hearing preparation. The project team will continue working on the project with a focus on progressing the inputs required for the Environment Court.

RMA statutory process (Source: MFE 2012)

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