Makara Guardians support wind power but not at any cost to the environment.

Turbines should be sited away from residences, recreation areas and important landscapes. There are plenty of suitable sites in New Zealand, close to the grid. The whole country has a good wind resource. There is plenty of space, only 4 million people here compared to 60 million in Britain with the same land area. We can accommodate these needs, Britain cannot.

A resource consent has been  obtained for a 137 turbine wind power station in the Manawatu, well away from the community and not affecting any recreation area. We support wind power stations in such areas. 

The negative effects of turbines must be acknowledged. They are noisy. They are not safe. They are not attractive to most people. Meridians turbine at Polhill has already lost its cowling, (never found), blown away in a storm.

Most will find turbines visually intrusive. The previous owner of Quartz Hill, ECNZ assured Wellington residents that because the turbines would be sited at Makara they would not be seen by most of Wellington.

Turbines may blend into the flat ordered landscape of the Netherlands but they cannot blend into landscape when sited on hilly horizons. The visual impact of the Polhill turbine, as a single icon, is no indicator of acceptance of multiple turbines. 

Imagine the view on entering the Makara valley from Karori. The radio masts you can see on Quartz Hill, of similar height, are 22 metres high. Multiply the height of these by 5.7 for the height of the turbines. The blades alone will each be 2 times the height of the masts. The turbines will dominate the skyline from Quartz Hill to the sea.

Power Generation

Economically viable photovoltaic roofing tiles (looking like Monier roof tiles) are now  available overseas. In Japan 370 000 solar roofs will be installed by 2005. In Germany 140 000 solar roofs will be installed by 2005. Why is New Zealand, with almost twice the solar resource of Germany, so far behind in embracing this technology? This is a more environmentally friendly alternative to wind power, each household virtually generating its own energy needs. Solar power is also a renewable resource.