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Why Westport? Renew Energy managing director David McGregor was recently asked why the proposed W-t-E plant should be built in Westport. McGregor replied, “One of the reasons for Westport was the port facilities. We can bring material from the [Pacific] Islands and Australia.” McGregor also briefed the Buller District Council in November 2018.  In this briefing, McGregor also stated the company’s intention to import waste from the Pacific Islands and Australia. If the company is so sure there are adequate amounts of waste available on the South Island to fuel the waste to the energy plant the company is proposing, then why import waste? Read More

The government announced hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding for a proposed waste-to-energy scheme two days after experts advised it was a lemon. The Environment Ministry warned the Provincial Growth Fund that the proposed project on the West Coast was unsustainable economically or environmentally. Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones placed the proposed scheme on ice in February after RNZ informed him its chief executive, Gerard Gallagher, had been referred to the Serious Fraud Office. The advice obtained under the Official Information Act shows the Environment Ministry warned the scheme had enormous flaws just two days before Mr Jones announced $350,000 for its feasibility study. The experts cautioned that the scheme would undermine other incentives to reduce waste, like recycling, and increase carbon emissions. Mr Jones said he never received the advice, and even if he had, it would have made no difference. Read More

Plans to build a controversial waste-to-energy plant on the West Coast have been scrapped. The announcement came after it was revealed that Buller Mayor Garry Howard had signed what appears to be an agreement to give the Westport plant the go-ahead without telling the public or district councillors. This revelation sparked controversy and public outcry, leading to the cancellation of the project. The agreement was between Renew Energy Ltd and Chinese company China Tianying Inc., which Howard signed while visiting China in May 2018. The agreement stated that China Tianying would build a Waste to Energy plant in Westport with resource consent valid for 30 years. The document states that the council will supply water, make a road to the plant, own the land, and lease it back to the company. It also includes costs and fees, which have been redacted. It also says the council will supply a landfill for the ash the plant will produce. Read More

The Buller District councillors voted on Thursday to show they had “no confidence” in Mayor Garry Howard after it was earlier revealed he signed an apparent agreement to give a proposed waste-to-energy plant in Westport the go-ahead without telling the public or councillors. Cr Dave Hawes said the deal would have bankrupted the council if approved. It included a price for water that would have meant the waste-to-energy company would have been paying only 8 per cent of what Westport residents paid for water. Read More

Howard’s trip would cost the ratepayers $4000. He would be joined by Buller district council’s economic development officer, John Hill, and two representatives from Waste to Energy West Coast Ltd, Gerard Gallagher and Mark McIntyre. The West Coast Economic Development fund would cover Hill’s trip. Mayor Howard said the plant building could employ up to 100 people and up to 1000 during the $250 million construction. READ MORE