The Government has warned of a costly and complex process if developers act before rules for consenting offshore energy are in place, Marc Daalder reports
Taranaki Regional Council said in a submission to the Government in January that it expected offshore wind company Wind Quarry Zealandia to apply for a consent to build a wind farm in the territorial sea.
The move would force the council and the Government into a tough situation, deciding on a consent application for a completely novel activity. Officials at the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) are working on a new regulatory regime for consenting offshore energy, but this won't be in place until next year.
The heads up from the council came after Energy and Resources Minister Megan Woods told officials in October to signal to developers that early applications could be subjected to costly and complex process, according to a briefing obtained under the Official Information Act.
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Officials were instructed to tell developers that "early applications may be 'called in' by the Minister of Conservation for a Board of Inquiry or Environment Court process to determine the consent. This is likely to be a complex process."
The call-in process allows ministers to directly intervene in consent applications of national significance. Without it, the regional council would be charged with making a decision.
Woods also told Newsroom on Tuesday morning that the new regulatory regime might supersede decisions made under the Resource Management Act (RMA). She said the regime was important to prevent developers from land-banking to block out competitors.
The regional council's warning arrived as part of its submission on the new regime. It said "a project led by Wind Quarry Zealandia Ltd [...] is in advanced stages of planning. The council will soon receive an application from them for a wind farm in the territorial sea."
Wind Quarry Zealandia has not responded to a request for comment from Newsroom. According to its website, it is run by American brothers Patrick and John O'Meara. Patrick, the CEO, is also a GP in Gore while John is the COO and a chemicals management executive with an address in South Carolina. The brothers say they have previously built two onshore wind farms in South Dakota.
Unlike other players in the offshore wind space, Wind Quarry is not a member of the Wind Energy Association.
Four other offshore developers contacted by Newsroom said they would wait until the new regime was in place before applying for any consents.
"As a developer with a long-term interest in New Zealand (40+ years, as our business model is to build, own and operate our wind farms), Parkwind’s advice is to not rush development of the regulatory framework unduly," Peter Spencer, who heads Belgian company Parkwind's New Zealand operations, told Newsroom.
"Our concern is that a rushed or ill-thought-out regime may result in adverse outcomes for the country and industry over the long term. We have participated in the development of offshore renewable electricity frameworks in frontier jurisdictions (eg. Belgium & Ireland) and have seen the need to craft the framework carefully to meet specific local objectives. We see premature consent applications through the likes of the RMA as contrary to this and Parkwind would not pursue this pathway."
In its submission on the new regime, Parkwind said it should include provisions to deal with early applications.
"It has become evident that any regulatory regime adopted will need to include robust commencement or staged commencement provisions that deal with any premature filing of applications for offshore renewable energy consents under the Resource Management Act that may have been submitted such as to avoid application of the new regulatory regime even after the minister announced that work on such a regime was commencing. It would be both inappropriate and unfair for any such RMA application to be granted consents in a way that avoids the application of the Act, assuming any such application if filed met the RMA and council requirements."
The council echoed this in its own submission.
"There is already competition for the offshore wind resource prior to the development of a new regulatory regime which may be problematic, unless appropriate transition or other provisions are available," it wrote.
Copenhagen Offshore Partners, which is working with the NZ Super Fund on offshore wind in Taranaki, also said it will wait until the new regime is ready.
"We have full confidence in the work MBIE are doing around the regulatory regime, we think it is necessary for projects of such national significance. We are unlikely to consider applying for a consent before the regime is in place," senior business development manager Giacomo Caleffi said.
Two other companies, Australian developer Oceanex and a joint venture between BlueFloat Energy and Elemental Group, likewise confirmed they wouldn't apply for an early consent.
Melanee Beatson, MBIE's manager for offshore renewables and hydrogen, told Newsroom there have been no consent applications as of May 30. A review of Taranaki Regional Council records also suggests that Wind Quarry has not yet filed its application.
