Waipipi Wind Farm
Country
  • New Zealand
Locationnear Waverley, New Zealand
Coordinates39°47′S 174°33′E / 39.783°S 174.550°E / -39.783; 174.550
StatusOperational
Construction began2019
Commission date2021
Construction costNZ$227 million[1]
Owner(s)Mercury NZ Ltd
Operator(s)
Thermal power station
Primary fuel
Wind farm
TypeOnshore
Hub height95 m (312 ft)
Rotor diameter130 m (430 ft)
Site area700 Ha
Power generation
Units operational31
Make and modelSiemens Gamesa 4.3MW
Nameplate capacity133 MW
Annual net output455 GWh

The Waipipi Wind Farm is a wind powered electricity generation project in New Zealand owned and operated by Mercury NZ Ltd. This site is located between Patea and Waverley in South Taranaki. The wind farm consists of 31 wind turbines over 980 hectares, generating up to 133 MW at a cost of approximately $277 million.[2] The 4.3 MW machines are the largest wind turbines installed in New Zealand.[3]

History

The Waverley wind farm project was initially proposed in 2007 by Allco Wind Energy but development ceased in 2009 when Allco was put into receivership.[4]

The project was acquired by Trustpower in 2010[5] and further developed in 2012.[6] The application for resource consents was lodged with South Taranaki District Council and the Taranaki Regional Council in 2016.[5] It was approved in July 2017.[7] The final investment decision to proceed with the project was taken in August 2019.[8]

Site work started with a sod-turning ceremony on 1 November 2019.[9] The turbine components were shipped from Denmark and China, arriving at Port Taranaki in May 2020.[10] The components were then transported by road to Waipipi. On 2 June 2020, the truck carrying the first turbine blade lost control and tipped over at Ōkato; the driver was uninjured and the blade suffered only minor damage.[11][12]

The first four turbines were commissioned and started contributing power to the national grid on 16 November 2020.[12] All turbines were commissioned by early 2021.[13] The windfarm was officially opened in June 2021.[1]

Equipment

The wind farm uses 31 Siemens Gamesa turbines, each with a 130 m rotor diameter and rated at 4.3 MW.[8]

An 11 km (7 mi) transmission line connects the wind farm to the national grid at Transpower's Waverley substation.[14]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Catherine Groenestein (23 June 2021). "South Taranaki wind farm hailed a success". Taranaki Daily News. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  2. ↑ "Waipipi Wind Farm". Tilt Renewables. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
  3. ↑ Martin, Robin (31 July 2020). "New Zealand's largest ever wind turbines appear in Taranaki". Taranaki Daily News.
  4. ↑ Anthony, John (10 September 2012). "Waverley's fortune blows in wind". Taranaki Daily News.
  5. 1 2 Groenestein, Catherine (10 May 2016). "Waverley wind farm project rejuvenated". stuff.co.nz.
  6. ↑ Harper, Laird (1 November 2012). "$300m wind farm plan revealed". Taranaki Daily News.
  7. ↑ "Waverley wind farm application gets go-ahead". Stuff. 10 July 2017. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  8. 1 2 "Investment decision for Waipipi Wind Farm". NZX. 28 August 2019.
  9. ↑ "Waipipi Wind Farm". Higgins Group.
  10. ↑ Watson, Mike (22 May 2020). "Waverley wind farm shipments signal positive opportunities for recovery". Stuff.
  11. ↑ "Truck carrying massive wind turbine blade topples over on SH45". Stuff. 2 June 2020. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
  12. 1 2 "Wind power blows in to South Taranaki". Stuff. 17 November 2020. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
  13. ↑ "Tilt completes Waipipi wind farm, breaks five-year drought for New Zealand". Renew Economy. 15 February 2021. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  14. ↑ "South Taranaki Waipipi Wind Farm parts arrive from China". NZ Herald. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
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