Te Uku - wind farm project - Essay Example

Networks that constructed the 33kV transmission line with a length of 25 kilometers in order to distribute electricity generated by the 28 wind turbines of the wind farm. Overall, the wind farm has a capacity of 64.4 MW coming from 28 turbines, with an average of 2.3MW of power from each turbine (Discover Te Uku, 2014). The Te Uku Wind Farm project in Waikato is very efficient in terms of energy production in supplying the area which it is supposed to supply with electrical power. Moreover, when it comes to sustainability, the assessment of environmental effects shows that the wind farm has mostly a neutral relationship with its surrounding flora, fauna and earth.

However, in terms of its earthworks, the Te Uku Wind Farm project somehow falls short of some of the requirements of the RMA. Nevertheless, the company’s continued existence proves otherwise. Lastly, the economic value of the wind farm is that it has somehow provided so many jobs to workers. The Resource Management Act, or RMA, is the specific national policy or the aspect of the law that explains the laws that govern the establishment, maintenance and operations of certain projects, firms and infrastructures in New Zealand.

Specifically, when it comes to the operation of wind turbines, wind farms do not actually qualify as “rural industries” because the term “rural industries” excludes the generation of electricity (Resource Management Act, 2007). Therefore, wind farms are known as a “Discretionary Activity” and may not comply with some of the standards of Permitted Activity as specified by the law (Resource Management Act, 2007). Nevertheless, the continuous operation of the Te Uku Wind Farm up to this day implies that its requirements as a discretionary activity have been complied with.

The earthworks plans for the project have also been considered questionable by virtue of the provisions of the Resource Management Act, but the fact that the wind farm operates until now somehow