energy.wikisort.org - Power_plant

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

West Wind Wind Farm
Country	New Zealand
Location	Mākara, west of Wellington City
Coordinates	41°16′35″S 174°39′37″E
Status	Operational
Construction began	September 2007 (September 2007)
Commission date	April 2009 (April 2009)
Construction cost	$440 million
Owner(s)	Meridian
Wind farm
Type	Onshore
Hub height	68 m (223 ft)
Rotor diameter	82 m (269 ft)
Rated wind speed	13–14 m/s (47–50 km/h; 29–31 mph)
Power generation
Units operational	62
Make and model	Siemens: SWT-2.3-82 VS
Nameplate capacity	142.6 MW
Capacity factor	44.0%
Annual net output	550 GWh
External links
Commons	Related media on Commons
[edit on Wikidata]

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]

See also

• Wind power in New Zealand
• Makara Guardians

References

External links

• Project West Wind information page

---