Renewable energy NPS
Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) supports the use of renewable forms of energy and the intent of the National Policy Statement (NPS) on Renewable Electricity Generation announced by Hon Dr Nick Smith.
LGNZ has been advocating for some time for the more effective use of national policy statements under the Resource Management Act.
We commend the Minister for finally getting this NPS in place. But in the interests of consistent council application of the Act we believe it should be possible to develop and apply these policy statements faster.
Many councils have already taken the initiative and included planning provisions for renewable energy development in their second-generation planning documents.
We hope the new NPS will provide the clarity and direction that local government has been seeking for consistent interpretation and implementation at regional and district levels.
Councils have been considering resource consent applications for renewable energy projects, including wind farms, for many years now with no clear national guidance from the Government despite the importance of electricity generation to our economy.
We consider that this NPS is long overdue and we can only hope that it was worth the wait.
LGNZ supports the use of national instruments to underpin local policy development and to provide national consistency in the case of standards. It would welcome the use of national policy statements in several other areas, including some forms of hazard management and outstanding natural features and landscapes.
Lawrence Yule
President
Local Government New Zealand
Posted 18 April 2011
