In a significant Environment Court judgment this week ([2025] NZEnvC 044), Meridian Energy has secured consent for its 90MW Mt Munro Wind Farm in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand.
When constructed, the project will generate enough renewable electricity to power up to 42,000 households.
Andrew Beatson of Richmond Chambers was lead counsel representing Meridian, assisted by Eleanor Taffs.
Project Location and Context
The Mt Munro Wind Farm will be situated approximately 5 kilometres south of Eketāhuna in the lower North Island. The site sits within the working rural landscapes of the Tararua and Wairarapa districts, near existing infrastructure but outside any outstanding natural landscapes or features.
Strategic Energy Context
Mt Munro’s Class 1 wind resource ensures the project will contribute meaningfully to national electricity security at a critical juncture in New Zealand’s energy transition. As thermal generation capacity diminishes and electricity demand increases, high-quality wind resources are an essential component of the energy supply mix.
The judgment recognises that sites with high renewable generation potential that are close to existing transmission infrastructure present strategically valuable development opportunities. The Court acknowledged the site’s capacity to “make a significant contribution” to increasing renewable electricity supply while “displacing greenhouse gas emissions from high emission thermal generation.”
Notable Legal Determinations
The judgment explores several contested areas of resource management law, including:
1. Visual Amenity effects
The Court confronted the considerable visual impact acknowledged for sixteen properties, with four properties experiencing “high” effects. The judgment provides a sophisticated analytical framework for consenting such activities despite acknowledged effects.
The Court determined that while effects on individual properties would be significant, the turbines would be “prominent rather than dominant” and avoided the “very high” visual effect category that might render grant of consent inappropriate. This nuanced approach to effects categorisation may provide a valuable precedent for other large-scale infrastructure applications.
2. Practical Interpretation of Existing Environment
The judgment directly confronts the difficult question of how to approach theoretical development rights when assessing what constitutes the “existing environment”. Opposing counsel advanced an argument that approximately 50 separate titles with development rights necessitated consideration as part of the existing environment.
The Court’s analysis distinguishes between theoretical rights and practical development likelihood, maintaining the “real world” approach to considering whether permitted activities should constitute part of the receiving environment. The decision avoided creating an artificial and uncertain environment against which effects of the proposal must be measured. This decision provides further guidance for practitioners navigating the often-contested Hawthorn principles.
Practical Significance
This judgment arrives at a pivotal time for New Zealand’s energy infrastructure development. With increasing climate policy imperatives accelerating renewable energy requirements, the decision provides a robust legal framework for evaluating such proposals. The Court’s approach to effects assessment, particularly regarding visual impacts, establishes a valuable precedent for wind energy projects that invariably alter landscapes and views. The judgment articulates how decision-makers can lawfully permit significant impacts, when these are appropriately contextualised within the relevant planning instruments.
The Court’s decision ultimately gives effect to the NPS-REG while requiring comprehensive effects management through a suite of conditions covering construction and operational phases— it provides a blueprint for assessing national benefits and localised impacts.
Conclusion
The Mt Munro decision outlines important parameters for renewable energy consenting at a time when such infrastructure is becoming increasingly important to achieve New Zealand’s energy security and climate objectives. The judgment provides practitioners with substantive guidance on effects assessment methodology, consenting pathways, and appropriate mitigation frameworks for significant renewable energy projects.
