Government Emits Hypocrisy: Animal Gas and Polluting Power versus Eco-Friendly Winds
Auckland, 16 July 2003. Greenpeace today hammered Government hypocrisy at the treatment of different winds: a levy for
foul farming flatulence, support for a greenhouse gas generation plant and woeful will toward windfarms.
SOE Minister Mark Burton and Finance Minister Michael Cullen have reportedly agreed to a “full investigation that the
Crown effectively underwrite the development” of Genesis’ proposed 400MW gas power plant at Huntly Power Station.
“The Government is quite rightly imposing a methane levy on the farming industry so they share the responsibility for
the climate changing gases the sector produces. However, it is grossly hypocritical for the Government to then agree to
underwrite climate change in the form of a 400MW greenhouse gas emitting power plant. The Government is taking from
climate polluters on the one hand but giving to climate polluters on the other,” said climate campaigner Vanessa
Atkinson.
If the $400-$500 million that Genesis wants to invest in generating 400MW is put into wind farms, it could
conservatively finance 500 - 625 of wind turbines generating 500kW each - a total of 250 - 312MW*. The economics would
likely be even better with larger 1MW turbines.
The recent Greenpeace report Winds of Change, outlined ways to drive renewable energy development with mandatory
renewable energy targets, market changes and incentives. Implementing these recommendations would allow wind farms to
compete with gas, and with zero carbon emissions. Set up times for gas or wind projects would be comparable.
“On the same day that Genesis asks for special treatment for more polluting power, UK Trade and Industry Secretary
Patricia Hewitt announced a huge wind farm development expansion that could see wind turbines powering one in six
households by 2010.”
“While there has been a lot of hot air around Helen Clark’s meetings with Tony Blair this week, we hope he emphasized
their recent concrete commitments to renewable energy.”
“The real problem in New Zealand is that there is no long term Government strategy to direct the electricity sector away
from fossil fuels and to renewable energy. The ‘incremental steps to sustainability’ that Pete Hodgson prefers, are
clearly being overridden by the growth of the fossil fuel sector, and the Government is adding to the problem,”
concluded Atkinson.
For more information contact: Communications Officer Dean Baigent-Mercer on 021 790 817 or campaigner Vanessa Atkinson
on 021 565 165.
*These figures are based on Windflow's conservative estimates for the full installation costs including roads etc for a
500kW wind turbine at $800,000.