In May 2006 the Trust announced its intention to investigate wind farming on the Pouto Peninsula with Meridian Energy.
The initial piece of work has begun and included building test towers on the site to gather data on the feasibility of the idea. This will be done over a period of 18 months.
Initial assessments suggest the site could generate up to 300MW of electricity - enough energy to supply power to meet the demands of an area the size of West Auckland.
The Trust is very excited about the opportunities the proposal presents to the Pouto community and will be working closely with it as the idea is developed further.
Te Uri o Hau is blessed with a substantial amount of natural resources and surroundings to take advantage of to grow the tribe’s capacity. Wind or the opportunity to develop wind farming is such a resource.
From an environmental perspective, wind energy is one of the best new generation options immediately available in New Zealand. Fossil fuel alternatives emit greenhouse gases, but wind farms are a sustainable and environmentally responsible alternative for electricity generation.
New Zealand is still developing its capacity to generate significant energy from wind farms to sustain the country and it is thought that while they will never replace the current means for generating electricity, wind-generated electricity is a viable alternative.
In order to be successful wind farms need to be built in locations where they can make best use of strong, unimpeded wind flows such as hilltops and ridgelines.
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