Project West Wind

West Wind Wind Farm
Map
CountryNew Zealand
LocationMākara, west of Wellington City
Coordinates41°16′35″S 174°39′37″E / 41.27639°S 174.66028°E / -41.27639; 174.66028
StatusOperational
Construction beganSeptember 2007 (September 2007)
Commission dateApril 2009 (April 2009)
Construction cost$440 million
OwnerMeridian
Wind farm
TypeOnshore
Hub height68 m (223 ft)
Rotor diameter82 m (269 ft)
Rated wind speed13–14 m/s (47–50 km/h; 29–31 mph)
Power generation
Units operational62
Make and modelSiemens: SWT-2.3-82 VS
Nameplate capacity142.6 MW
Capacity factor44.0%
Annual net output550 GWh
External links
CommonsRelated media on Commons
[edit on Wikidata]

West Wind is a wind farm located at Terawhiti Station and Mākara, west of Wellington, New Zealand.

It is the first wind farm for the capital city, and has a capacity of 143 MW.[1] Construction of the wind farm project began in September 2007[2] and was completed in late 2009.[3] The wind farm received resource consent for up to 66 turbines,[4] however only 62 were installed.[5] It is owned and operated by Meridian Energy.

The wind farm was officially opened in April 2009, when Prime Minister John Key turned on the first 15 turbines.[6] Electricity from the farm is stepped-up to 110 kV and is injected into Transpower's national grid via hard tee connections into two of the three Central Park to Wilton circuits (both circuits of the Central Park - Wilton B Line).

Six turbines suffered premature bearing failures in 2011.[7]

The wind farm was the winner of the Energy and Resources category in the 2012 New Zealand Engineering Excellence Awards.[8]

In September 2019 Meridian celebrated 10 years of generation with the Mākara and Wellington community at the recreation area.[9]

An aerial view of the Project West Wind wind farm at Mākara.
Project West Wind wind farm

See also

References

  1. ^ "Wind Farms". Wellington City Council. Archived from the original on 6 September 2008. Retrieved 21 September 2008.
  2. ^ Clark, Helen (27 September 2007). "Clark: Opening of Meridian's Project West Wind". Scoop. Retrieved 21 September 2008.
  3. ^ "Project West Wind". New Zealand Wind Energy Association. Archived from the original on 16 January 2010. Retrieved 10 February 2010.
  4. ^ "Decision approving conditions" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 October 2008. Retrieved 21 September 2008.
  5. ^ Blundell, Kay (30 January 2008). "Turbine farm for Ohariu Valley". The Dominion Post. Retrieved 21 September 2008.
  6. ^ "West Wind Powers Wellington". Scoop. 29 April 2009.
  7. ^ Bradley, Grant (8 June 2011). "Wellington winds too windy for wind farm". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 4 June 2012.
  8. ^ "Controversial wind farm Wins Prestigious Engineering Award". New Zealand Engineering Excellence Awards. 3 December 2012.
  9. ^ "Meridian Energy Celebrates with West Wind Community". Meridian Energy. Retrieved 10 November 2019.


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