Project Hayes was a controversial wind farm proposed for the Lammermoor Range of Otago, New Zealand.
[2][3] It had a proposed capacity of up to 630MW, at the time making it the largest wind farm project in the southern hemisphere.
[1] The proposed farm would have covered an area of approximately 92 km²,[4] used up to 176 wind turbines and cost up to $2 billion.
[11] In November 2009, the Environment Court declined the consents as they concluded that the project did not achieve sustainable management under the Resource Management Act 1991 because the substantial adverse impacts, principally on the outstanding natural landscape, outweighed the positive factors, principally the large quantity of renewable energy.
[18] Meridian's lawyers asked the High Court to clarify its decision in respect of the Central Otago district plan landscape categories.