Contact's windfarm consent rejection sign NZ closed for business: Fuge

Contact boss Mike Fuge was not smiling when the consent rejection was released. (Image: NZME)

Wed, 19 Mar 2025

The rejection of a consent for a Southland wind farm will add millions of dollars in costs, years of delay and send the message that New Zealand is not open for business because of the law and the way it is being interpreted, Contact chief executive Mike Fuge says.On Tuesday, a fast-track consenting panel, convened under the now replaced covid-era law, rejected Contact’s application to build a $1 billion windfarm capable of generating 300 megawatts across a proposed 55 turbines.The expert panel said part of the farm would have interfered...

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