Waste-to-energy plant plans dumped after Buller mayor 'overstepped mark'
Wednesday, 3 April 2019
Plans to build a controversial waste-to-energy plant on the West Coast have been scrapped.
The announcement comes after it was revealed Buller Mayor Garry Howard signed what appears to be an agreement to give the Westport plant the go-ahead without telling the public or district councillors.
The agreement was between Renew Energy Ltd and Chinese company China Tianying Inc – and Howard signed while on a visit to China in May 2018.
A week later, Renew Energy chief executive David McGregor told Stuff it had signed a $300m deal with the Chinese investor and promised 350 jobs for the district.
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McGregor said on Wednesday Renew was pulling out of Buller because the project did not have the support of residents.
Waste-to-energy is the process of generating energy in the form of electricity and/or heat from waste, or the processing of waste into a fuel source.
Howard said he regretted signing the document but said he had made it clear to Renew and China Tianying the plant was subject to approval under the resource consent process.
Some councillors have called for his resignation saying they, and the public, were kept in the dark.
The document, released to Stuff under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act (LGOIMA), says 'all parties have agreed upon the following conditions regarding the below-mentioned projects and shall abide by such conditions'.
It says China Tianying will build a Waste to Energy plant in Westport with a resource consent to be valid for 30 years. It says the council will supply water, build a road to the plant, own the land and lease it back to the company and included costs and fees, which have been redacted. It also says the council will supply a landfill for the ash the plant will produce.
Howard said he 'overstepped the mark'.
'I have not kept councillors abreast and I make a clear apology to council in regards to that. I really should have, in hindsight, left the discussion for the parties and should not have been a signatory.'
He said he told China Tianying he could not agree to anything without it going to full council or the proper consenting process, and always had Buller's best interests in mind.
Howard was 'personally disappointed' the project wasn't going ahead because it could have been a catalyst for further jobs and investment.
He said he would not be resigning but had already announced he would not be standing in this year's local body elections.
Councillor Jamie Cleine said he was shocked Howard had signed a document so detailed it included how much council would charge for the company to dump its toxic ash.
'This council and community has had no opportunity to hear all the facts and have a full discussion. It's bizarre,' he said.
Renew directors have spent $5m on the project so far.
McGregor said the company would invest in a region that 'clearly understands, appreciates and embraces the opportunity' and Buller residents did not.
The company had previously withdrawn a resource consent application to store baled waste in nearby Reefton after residents objected.
'We went to meet with them and I said 'can we talk about this like adults and give you all the information so you can understand' and they said 'we are not interested, we don't want it, just go away'. Rather than any dialogue it was nothing,' he said.
In a statement Renew Energy chairman Hugh Grey said it would not 'pursue opportunities without local council and community support'.
'In this regard it has had several approaches to build the plant in other suitable locations and will now pursue those options,' he said.
The company declined to reveal where those other locations were.