The planned 55-turbine wind farm at Slopedown near Wyndham is part of the fast-track legislation process and a decision is due from the hearing panel this week.
In a minute produced by the panel last week they said there were "what appear to be insurmountable difficulties" in several key areas between submitters and Contact Energy.
Those areas include wetland protection, lizards, invertebrates, landscape and amenity.
The panel also backed a comment from the West Catlins Preservation Society that the benefit fund for the community could not be seen as anything anywhere near a "substantial" fund for the community, given their feedback about the long-term adverse effects (over several generations) and the expected profit from the project over its life. The fund was valued at $2.8m over the 35 years of the project’s lifetime.
But Contact Energy in a minute it sent to the panel late last week said it rejected much of what the panel said about "insurmountable difficulties".
"Contact vehemently disagrees with that categorisation and it is greatly surprised by the panel’s assertion in this regard. Such an assertion is new, and Contact refutes it given the very thorough work done to provide additional information and make amendments and concessions to the project to address concerns raised."
It also was unsure whether the panel had been engaging with and digesting the information Contact provided.
It questioned whether the panel had fully appreciated or been properly respectful of the fact that the mana whenua and kaitiaki of this whenua considered there to be no such difficulties. It also questioned whether the panel took into account the Department of Conservation had no outstanding concerns regarding the project over ecological effects and local authorities had a degree of comfort with the project.
They also questioned whether they had evaluated some peer reviewers who had commented on the proposal made without the benefit of any real knowledge of the site or carrying out their own primary assessment.
Contact said the project would bring about long-term benefits for biodiversity over thousands of hectares.
There would be a clear and sustained net gain in biodiversity across the project site.
Contact and the Department of Conservation and their specialists devised a package of environmental measures that would benefit a wide range of native species and other natural values, including Contact providing the long-term funding for the enhancement of 10,000ha of bird and bat habitat at the Beresford Range in the Catlins, Contact said.
The power company said it could drop a maximum of six turbines before the project became unprofitable.
Contact said it was prepared to increase the money put in to the community fund. It would rise to $3,787,500 across 35 years.
It did point out there were just 30 dwellings with 5km of the wind farm.
It said to try to work through concerns as deep-seated as those raised for the preservation society was often futile and just led to more opposition to the project.
