(Bloomberg) — New Zealand’s willingness to encourage seabed mining in the same piece of ocean where offshore wind generation could be built is unprecedented, according to an international wind farm developer.
Parkwind is among several companies looking at the opportunity to build a wind farm off the south coast of Taranaki on New Zealand’s North Island. However, the same location offers potential for mining of iron sands and other minerals from the seabed.
“There’s no precedent for this,” Parkwind Country Manager Peter Spencer told a parliamentary committee Thursday in Wellington. “We don’t have examples of what exactly the effect of seabed mining will be next to an offshore wind farm.”
New Zealand wants to increase renewable electricity projects such as wind and solar to reduce thermal generation and help reach climate goals. However, the government also wants to re-invigorate mining and has passed fast-track legislation that may allow projects such as undersea mining to proceed.
The area off Taranaki has an excellent wind resource and favorable water depths for construction of turbines. But the seabed in the same area has iron sands that contain the mineral vanadium, and Trans Tasman Resources is chasing the consents it needs to mine there.
Parkwind, which is owned by Japan’s biggest generator Jera Co., has carried out its own assessments and is now consulting with outside experts, Spencer said. He didn’t disclose the preliminary findings.
“It takes time to do but it’s something that we’re spending money on doing,” he said. “Ideally we will get an idea of what kind of buffer zones we think will be necessary for our investors to be satisfied that the risk is not significant.”
Asked if New Zealand’s apparent support for undersea mining is problematic, Spencer said it had come as a surprise.
“Risks like that don’t really help instill confidence in a country, but we get that the future is hard to predict and political decisions do get made,” he said.
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