More than 150 Martinborough residents have vowed to fight against Meridian Energy's plan to build a wind farm near a protected ridge of hills after attending a public meeting in their town hall on Tuesday night.

Meridian is considering putting 45 turbines near a ridge known as Nga Waka a Kupe or Kupe's canoes, which is a listed heritage site under the local council's district plan.

Local residents voiced their concerns about the cultural significance of the proposed site.

There were also questions about the noise, health implications and the visual impact of 125 metre tall turbines on Martinborough's rural landscape.

Residents living near existing or proposed wind farms in Makara, Ashurst and Taihape said the reality of living by wind farms was vastly different and worse than what they were told to expect during the consultation processes.

Martinborough resident David Kershaw said locals were not against wind farms but that this site was wrong.

"We do not want a wind farm on this particular site because it is culturally significant and because the turbines will dominate our town. We doubt Meridian would want to be associated with a project that would be the equivalent of sticking a McDonald's on Mount Rushmore," Mr Kershaw said.

Martinborough has been transformed into a popular tourist destination by the growth of the wine industry. However, Palliser Estate Managing Director Richard Riddiford said great care has been taken to maintain the peaceful, rural character of the area.

"The wind farm proposal goes against every value and principle we have worked towards. It is visibly grotesque and culturally offensive. We want Meridian to use a site that is more respectful of our Maori and Pakeha history," Mr Riddiford said.

Martinborough resident Rob Morrison told residents that New Zealand's power companies were building more than enough capacity to meet the country's energy demands.

"Given Meridian's planned increase in generating capacity, clearly this is not a strategically vital project or a must have deal for Meridian - so why would they even consider building on this site?" Mr Morrison said.

Meridian Energy Chief Executive Tim Lusk attended the meeting and residents were heartened to hear from him that the Martinborough wind farm was "not an essential project".