Mount Cass Wind Farm facts for kids

The Mount Cass Wind Farm is a planned wind farm in New Zealand. It will be built on Mount Cass, which is east of a town called Waipara. This area is in the Canterbury part of New Zealand. A wind farm uses large wind turbines to create electricity from the wind.

What is the Mount Cass Wind Farm?

The Mount Cass Wind Farm is a big project that plans to build many wind turbines. These turbines will stretch for about 7 kilometers (about 4.3 miles) along a ridge on Mount Cass. The main goal of this wind farm is to produce clean, renewable energy. This means it will make electricity without burning fossil fuels, which helps protect our planet.

How Many Turbines and How Much Power?

When finished, the Mount Cass Wind Farm could have up to 70 wind turbines. These turbines will work together to generate a lot of electricity. The farm is expected to produce up to 69 megawatts (MW) of power. To give you an idea, 69 MW is enough electricity to power many thousands of homes.

The Journey to Build the Wind Farm

Building a large project like a wind farm takes a lot of planning and approvals. The company that owns the project, MainPower, had to get special permission. This permission is called a resource consent. It's like asking for a permit to use land and resources for a big construction project.

Getting Permission to Build

The process to get permission started a long time ago.

• In November 2007, MainPower asked the local council for the necessary permits.
• People in the community were able to share their thoughts about the project.
• At first, in April 2009, the local council said no to the permits.
• MainPower then took their case to a special court called the Environment Court. This court deals with decisions about the environment and land use.
• Finally, in December 2011, the Environment Court approved the resource consents. This meant the project could move forward with its plans.