Ewan Carr said last night he would be discussing the order with a lawyer on Monday and "options may come across our desk" about whether the costs could be challenged.
He would not say what those options might be.
The society went to the High Court earlier this year seeking a judicial review of whether the resource consent processes used by the local authorities which approved TrustPower's Mahinerangi wind farm and Meridian Energy's Project Hayes wind farm contained errors.
Costs were awarded against the society by Justice Fogarty this week, following a hearing on September 16 when the society's application was struck out on the basis it had no hope of succeeding.
The society has been ordered to pay $49,788.21 to five parties - $14,473 to the Central Otago District Council, $11,340.73 to TrustPower, $10,160 to the Otago Regional Council, $7954.58 to the Clutha District Council, and $5859.82 to Meridian Energy.
Mr Carr said the society still believed its application to the High Court was about "matters of fact which deserved to be heard" and options for future legal actions would also be discussed on Monday.
The society was a public interest group "fighting a hopelessly one-sided battle" with energy companies over wind farm plans, he said.
Some Environment Court action was continuing, but Mr Carr said that did not preclude the society revisiting High Court action at a later date.
Mr Carr would not say whether the society had enough money in the bank to pay the costs ordered by Judge Fogarty, or whether it could raise the money if necessary.
"That is not the business of the ODT; it is the business of the Uplands Protection Society," he said.
TrustPower community relations manager Graeme Purches said yesterday the decision was "a welcome Christmas present" for TrustPower and ratepayers.
"The decision sends a signal to people that they can't keep wasting people's time and money. This group exercised their democratic rights . . . and lost, and now they have to pay costs."
The amount awarded to TrustPower was "a fraction" of the "way more than $1 million and approaching $2 million" the company had spent on the Mahinerangi consent process.
Mr Puches said TrustPower was not sure it would get its money from the society. If the society wound itself up, it was possible no money would ever change hands.
That had happened when the Save Mahinerangi group, which had opposed TrustPower's proposal to expand the Waipori hydro-electricity generation scheme, was ordered to pay $20,000 but disbanded before it did so.
TrustPower applied to the court to have the judgement enforced but was told it was not worth the fight, Mr Purches said.
