It is also in negotiations with Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu and Te Ao Marama Inc over compensation for the project.
The company’s proposed Slopedown wind farm, near Wyndham, is going through the fast-track consent process.
The consent panel has sought comment from interested parties and then Contact Energy was asked to reply to those comments.
"New Zealand needs this project. The world needs to reduce emissions to stave off the potentially catastrophic effects of human-induced climate change. New Zealand is committed to doing its part," Contact said.
"This project, and many more like it, are essential to ensure affordable, reliable and clean electricity supply across all future time horizons."
Contact said between 27 and 40 new wind farms at the scale of the Slopedown project would have to be built by 2050 to meet government targets.
The location of the project was highly favourable, even leaving aside the excellent wind resource, it said.
Demand for electricity in Southland was forecast to grow and this project would help companies which needed power to operate.
The project was some distance from population centres — the closest town, Wyndham, had 579 inhabitants and was about 12km away, and the turbines were, unusually for a New Zealand wind farm, no closer than 2.3km from neighbouring houses.
The site was close to ports, roads, transmission lines and other infrastructure. It was not in a remote area providing a wilderness experience or with high conservation or natural values.
"It is on land used for farming and exotic forestry that is not identified in any planning or other statutory instrument as an area of sensitivity, such as in ecological, landscape, or cultural terms."
The project’s adverse effects were anticipated by the planning instruments and the project was proposed to be built in a rural environment where economic activity was promoted.
Adverse effects that could not be avoided would be comprehensively addressed through proposed conditions and generous and carefully developed offset/compensation measures.
"Wind turbines being visible from nearby properties and around the district, is not a valid reason for the panel to refuse consent."
Not to go ahead would bring "large power outages and rapidly increasing costs to industry [including major exporters] and consumers are unlikely to be tolerable".
The wind farm would be generating some electricity for about 92% of the time. Wind generation generally produced twice as much as solar power farms.
Contact Energy said it had carried out widespread community engagement. Following concerns over lighting the company has decided only 16 out of the 55 proposed turbines would require a single, medium-intensity light.
The company did not want to have public meetings in its consultation as it was "ineffective at conveying useful information to communities", not a helpful forum to provide constructive feedback and far inferior to face-to-face discussions in terms of building relationships.
The company though will set up a community benefit fund. It will provide an initial contribution of $100,000 and a minimum of $50,000 per year — indexed for inflation — during construction and operation of the project. It will also contribute an additional $200 per year to the fund annually for every MW over 200MW. The fund was expected to return about $2.8million to the local community over the expected project life of 30 years. The fund will not continue beyond the life of the initial turbines.
The company is in negotiations with runaka and some agreements have been reached.
Contact would provide a fund to address residual cultural effects of the project and to support the long-term community good and wellbeing of members of the Kā Papatipu Rūnaka.
There would also be a Kā Papatipu Rūnaka-selected but Contact-funded and resourced cultural monitor during construction. The rūnaka would also name the project and other parts of the project.
Contact Energy would also provide power to four marae at no cost and set up a scholarship and training fund.
A runaka community contribution fund will be set up along with a taiao-related fund. The amount of money for the funds is still being negotiated.
