Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
'Solar’ Cannot Become The Password For An Easy Ride When Our Environment And Land Resources Are At Stake
Grass-roots
group Save Waipara Valley (SWV) have identified disturbing
signs of ‘greenwashing’ in one developer’s approach to
industrial-scale solar generation. Far North Solar
Farm Ltd (FNSF) are currently considering the development of
11 large-scale solar plants around New Zealand, including a
200-hectare plant in the Waipara Valley. “We’ve heard
claims of sustainability from FNSF over the last few
weeks,” SWV supporter Lizzy Kelsey says, “but so far
they don’t stand up to scrutiny. In fact, if you follow
the guidance from the World Economic Forum and the Green
Business Bureau, their claims are classic
greenwashing”. Examples include FNSF failing to
mention results from a Massey study that found grass growth
declined by 84% when covered with solar panels, despite FNSF
repeatedly citing the study’s early
results. Developers appear to be leveraging the
perception of renewable energy generation as environmentally
sound, while ignoring the true environmental costs of some
proposals. "Of course renewable energy has huge promise,"
says Kelsey, "but just because a company generates renewable
electricity doesn’t mean that overall it is sustainable
and environmentally-friendly." The reality is that
such proposals are profit-driven, and need to be robustly
assessed. Organisations such as Greenpeace have
previously highlighted that just because energy production
is renewable, it doesn’t mean it is necessarily
sustainable. Research by Save Waipara Valley has also
found that the majority of FNSF’s proposed construction
site in the Waipara Valley is classed as ‘Highly
Productive Land’, meaning it is supposed to be protected
from developments such as new industrial solar plants. Only
15% of land in New Zealand is classed as Highly Productive,
meaning it is NZ’s most fertile and versatile soil. “The
fact that FNSF are silent about the productive capacity of
the land is a serious problem,” says Kelsey. “There are
legal and environmental issues here that are being
ignored.” With a raft of such proposals now
approaching the consenting phase, Save Waipara Valley
stresses the importance of critically assessing claims made
by developers, who are often pursuing the interests of
offshore investors. Meeting renewable energy
targets must not come at the expense of New Zealand’s
environment and food production
capacity. Sources: 1) Save Waipara
Valley have identified disturbing signs of
‘greenwashing’ in FNSF’s approach to the Waipara
Valley proposal:
See2) Claims of
sustainability made by FNSF: See
e.g. 3) FNSF fail to mention
results from a Massey study that found grass growth declined
by 84% when covered with solar panels, despite repeatedly
citing the study’s early results: See
e.g. 4) FNSFs proposals are
profit-driven: see 5) Greenpeace highlights
that just because energy production is renewable, it
doesn’t mean it is necessarily
sustainable: 6) The majority of
FNSF’s proposed construction site in the Waipara Valley is
classed as ‘Highly Productive Land’, meaning it is
supposed to be protected from developments such as new
industrial solar plants:
See SAVE
WAIPARA
VALLEY
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