Seabed Mining Sinks Offshore Wind Industry

Greenpeace says the decision by an offshore wind developer to cancel its plans for wind farms in New Zealand due to conflict with a seabed mining project included in the Fast Track demonstrates just how regressive the new legislation is.

Spanish offshore wind developer BlueFloat Energy has announced it will no longer pursue its plans for wind farms off the coast of Taranaki and Waikato, citing uncertainties around seabed allocation.

The South Taranaki Bight is the area where the Australian-owned wannabe seabed miner Trans-Tasman Resources intends to gouge out tens of millions of tonnes of sand every year for 35 years, and the wind energy industry has previously said that would be incompatible with offshore wind farms.

Greenpeace seabed campaigner Juressa Lee (Te Rarawa, Ngāpuhi, Rarotonga) says: "The offshore wind industry warned the government that seabed mining was fundamentally incompatible with offshore wind farms, but they went ahead anyway, and now we all pay the price.

"Including Trans-Tasman Resources on the list of projects for Fast Track Approvals highlights the Luxon government’s unhealthy fixation on extractive industries and fossil fuels.

"At the same time as the Luxon Government is closing the door on a renewable energy industry, they’re talking about opening up new oil and gas exploration and building a fossil gas importation terminal. It’s straight-out climate denial," says Lee.

Trans-Tasman Resources has been seeking to mine 50 million tons of sand every year in the South Taranaki Bight for 35 years. For over a decade, it has faced stiff opposition from marine experts, local iwi, community, and environmental groups.

Since initially getting consent in 2017, TTR has had that consent quashed by three courts, with the Supreme Court finally sending it back to the EPA, requiring the company to prove it will cause no material harm.

TTR pulled out of that EPA hearing in March this year, soon after the fast-track bill was announced and then confirmed that they had been invited by the coalition government to apply to have their seabed mining project fast-tracked.

Seabed mining would be a significant threat to marine life, including blue whales, Māui and Hector’s dolphins, little blue penguins, and critical fishing grounds.

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