Wings over Makara wind farm project powers on

KENT BLECHYNDEN/The Dominion Post

BLADE RUNNER: It took 69 barge trips to transport these giant blades, plus 20 towers and 15 power cells across Cook Strait to the West Wind site near Makara.

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Giant blades destined to power a wind farm near Wellington lie at the site ready for action.

At 40 metres long and 10 tonnes each, the turbine blades dwarf workers and trucks at Meridian Energy's 62-turbine West Wind project near Makara.

The cost of each blade was commercially sensitive, senior project engineer Chris Jones said. "But they're a very clever piece of engineering it's safe to say they're not cheap."

Sixty-nine barge trips from Shakespeare Bay, next to Picton Harbour, had brought 24 blades, 20 towers and 15 power cells across Cook Strait to the West Wind site, Mr Jones said. "It's all been going very well, but I'm not counting any chickens yet."

The first turbines would go up in mid-February, with help from 50 Danish technicians from the engineering giant Siemens.

"We've already had a couple across. They've been very impressed with the site, not to mention the scenery."

The turbines will be 111 metres tall, higher than Wellington's State Insurance Building. Two other wind farms are proposed near Wellington.

Mighty River Power will lodge a resource consent application for the 28-turbine Long Gully wind farm, southwest of Brooklyn, early next year.

Meridian Energy has applied for consent to build a 31-turbine wind farm at Mill Creek in Ohariu Valley, west of Wellington.

West Wind will produce 143 megawatts, enough power for 70,000 homes. The project has faced opposition from residents concerned about the size and potential noise from the turbines.

West Wind Community Liaison Group representative Deb Compton said the size of the finished turbines would surprise people. "There's really no way to picture just how big they will be. The only thing you can do is actually stand underneath one and look up."

A new electricity substation was completed last week. The first turbines will be turned on in April, and West Wind should be operating fully in 12 months.

- © Fairfax NZ News