Project West Wind

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

West Wind Wind Farm
CountryNew Zealand
LocationMākara, west of Wellington City
Coordinates41°16′35″S 174°39′37″E
StatusOperational
Construction beganSeptember 2007 (September 2007)
Commission dateApril 2009 (April 2009)
Construction cost$440 million
Owner(s)Meridian
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

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]

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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