Appendix A – Consultation in preparation of this NMP Consultation on V02-01
A draft version of the NMP was released for community consultation in 2019 (V02-01 dated 31 October 2019). Comments were received from one submitter, with responses provided below. It is noted that further consultation is planned for this updated version of the NMP. The comments and responses are provided below: Comment
Response
It appears that this is a very early stage draft plan merely provided to fulfil the Condition 25 requirement. Referring to maps that are not included, known dwellings absent, not peer reviewed etc etc. Near Field Testing – The concept of building something, and then testing to see if it is acceptable, is against the whole idea of Planning and reasoning of NZS6808.
V02-01 was an early version released for consultation prior to the finalisation of turbine locations and details. That information is provided in the current version.
The Near Field Testing is required under Condition 20 of the Planning Permit. It is important to recognise that it is only one aspect of the noise compliance assessment process for the Golden Plains Wind Farm that also includes: • The Pre-Construction Noise Assessment: a predictive report that will be required to demonstrate that predicted noise levels from the wind farm and ancillary infrastructure comply with the applicable noise limits. The Pre-Construction Noise Assessment will be based on technical information supplied by the wind turbine manufacturer about the noise emissions from their wind turbines. As required by Condition 18, this must be submitted and approved before development starts. • The Post-Construction Noise Assessment: a report that assesses, based on measurements, whether or not the wind farm is complying with the applicable noise limits at noise-sensitive land uses once it has commenced operation. The Near Field Testing is considered important for this project because: • The Pre-Construction Noise Assessment will include technical information supplied by the wind turbine manufacturer and the Near Field Testing will be able to verify that the installed turbines are operating in accordance with that technical information. In the unexpected event of higher noise levels from the installed turbines, the Near Field Testing results can be used to determine whether additional measurements are required at or near noise-sensitive locations to assess compliance with the applicable noise limits. • It can provide information on the noise levels from the site more quickly than the Post-Construction Noise Assessment. Near Field Testing can commence as soon as wind turbines are generating and the test procedure, while dependent on wind conditions at the site, generally takes no more than 48 hours, allowing analysis of the data after a relatively short timeframe. In contrast, the measurement procedure for the Post-Construction Noise Assessment requires multiple weeks of data prior to analysing the data and, subject to the timing requirements of the Planning Permit, would normally only commence once most or all of the turbines at the site are operational. 37
