A Maniototo landowner says the green light for a massive 300-megawatt solar farm next to her property is “absolutely devastating”, as the company behind the proposal wins planning approval for another large-scale solar project in Hawke’s Bay.

She is now considering an appeal to the Environment Court, alleging the project and the council’s handling of it could ruin her dog-kennel business, with the 15-day statutory window for her to do so closing.

Two weeks ago an independent hearings panel approved Helios Energy’s application for a 300-megawatt solar farm with more than half-a-million panels between Naseby and Ranfurly. 

Just days later, a separate proposal by Helios Energy for a 58-megawatt solar farm on 35 hectares of Hawke’s Bay farmland was also given go-ahead. 

The Maniototo decision followed a three-day hearing in August and 181 public submissions received on the proposal.  

However, Rose Voice, who lives next to the Maniototo site, claims the process was flawed and the effects on her livelihood not considered early enough. 

She alleges a Central Otago District Council (CODC) planner “dropped the ball” in failing to properly investigate how the project would affect her kennel and rescue-dog business. 

“He’s just absolutely ignored us,” she said, confirming she was not interviewed nor her business visited prior to a planning report on impacts being delivered. 

CODC declined the opportunity to respond to the allegation, with a spokesperson telling The Central App the council “has no comment to make” as the matter is still within the appeals period.

Rose thinks the solar farm’s construction phase in particular – when extensive piling work will be required - will devastate her business. 

“That repetitive, bang, bang, bang, bang...you don't have to be much of a dog or an animal lover to realise that kenneling dogs in a situation where they can't get away from that noise (will be detrimental to their wellbeing),” she said.

Rose and her family are now weighing up whether to appeal to the Environment Court, talking with potential legal representatives about next steps.

Rose acknowledges the appeal route would be an expensive path forward, and the family has been approached by people offering support and is looking into crowdfunding to cover legal costs. 

“We, certainly, ourselves, don’t have that sort of money,” she said.  

In its decision, the independent panel concluded adverse effects from the solar farm could be avoided, remedied or mitigated through 61 consent conditions, and the development would make a significant contribution to the country’s transition to clean energy. 

Helios Energy is required to comply with extensive conditions covering construction, fire safety, visual screening, wildlife protection and decommissioning, and it must also establish a community fund within 40 working days of beginning operations.

Another submitter, Otago Regional Council Dunstan constituency candidate and Maniototo resident Amie Pont, said the panel’s decision reflected the limits of the current consent-by-consent approach. 

“Who is responsible for saying, hang on, we might need to get some sort of cohesive discussion going here?,” she said, talking about the broader issue of converting local pastures into industrial solar farms to, among other things, “offset other country’s carbon emissions” and deliver profit to private companies. 

“It feels like we don’t necessarily start thinking about these things until we are already three-quarters of the way through a process.” 

Amie said the decision had left many in the community feeling the solar farm had been imposed on them, and she felt “gutted for the adjoining landholders”. 

She also thought there was still some misinformation in the community about the scale and visibility of the project, saying some people assumed the development was to be “tucked away” rather than having significant road frontage.

Read more: Solar farm gets green light for Maniototo plains

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Images: Helios Energy