The Environment Court on Monday heard from appellants opposing the proposed $2 billion Project Hayes wind farm.
Appellant John Douglas, of Alexandra, gave evidence on behalf of himself and his family.
His evidence was largely focused on the nature of a 92sq km Lammermoor Range site proposed for the development.
Mr Douglas said it was extremely difficult to replant native tussock, which was proposed as a mitigation measure by Meridian.
"You've got to get tussock from the same site.
"If you bring in tussock from other areas, they will sulk and struggle to survive, and very rarely will they flower," Mr Douglas said.
He also criticised Meridian's planned mitigation of sediment build-up and run-off arising from earthworks on the site during a five-year construction phase.
"You can go ahead and do all this sediment control but in fact you are still destroying dry gullies in the area.
"There's always the possibility of failure," he said.
Mr Douglas said an alternative to using Old Dunstan Rd to transport material to and from the site would be the development of a new road down the range face and into a gully below.
The hearing also heard from appellant and Central Otago Recreational Users Forum secretary Jan Kelly, of Wanaka, who made a submission on behalf of the group.
Mrs Kelly said the cumulative effects of Project Hayes and TrustPower's consented Mahinerangi wind farm on the Lammerlaw Range would ruin Central Otago and Clutha landscapes, especially for visitors, tourists, and recreational users.
"No-one has found a way to create a natural landscape.
These mountain ranges are neither renewable nor recoverable when damaged, and when their natural qualities have gone, they are gone.
"Electricity can be made in a number of places. Mountains cannot," she said.
