Te Apiti Wind Farm
Over 22,000 Cubic Metres of Concrete for Manawatu Wind Farm
Golden
Bay Cement is playing a big part in the construction of Meridian
Energy's Te Apiti Wind Farm which is being built on 1150 hectares on
the north side of the Manawatu Gorge between Ashhurst and Woodville.
Te Apiti is the Maori name for the Manawatu Gorge.
GOLDEN
BAY CEMENT is playing a big part in the construction of Meridian
Energy’s Te Apiti Wind Farm which is being built on 1150 hectares on
the north side of the Manawatu Gorge between Ashhurst and Woodville. Te
Apiti is the Maori name for the Manawatu Gorge.
When completed, this wind farm will have 55 wind turbines each with a capacity of 1.65 megawatts (MW), providing a total capacity of 90 MW. This will be the country’s most technologically advanced and productive Wind farm, generating enough electricity for 32,300 homes. This is the first New Zealand Wind farm to use megawatt class machines.
Meridian Energy is New Zealand’s largest generator of electricity with about 30% of the nation’s total capacity, and it also manages 70 percent of the nation’s hydro electric storage. It is also a major retailer of electricity. The energy generated at the Te Apiti Wind Farm will be supplied into Transpower’s national grid.
This project also has benefits from an environmental perspective. Te Apiti will generate electricity without producing greenhouse gases, thus protecting the environment and helping New Zealand to meet its greenhouse gas reduction commitments under the Kyoto Protocol.
The design of each of the 55 turbine structures at Te Apiti is a gravity foundation with 400 cubic metres of concrete being used for each foundation. This is a total of 22,000 cubic metres of concrete. The turbines will be on 70 metre tubular towers. The nacelle will weigh approximately 57 tonnes, and each of the three blades weighs 8 tonnes. They are 30 metres in diameter.
The civil engineering contract for the project was awarded to Higgins
Contracting Limited of Palmerston North. This contract involves the
construction of 21 kilometres of access roads over the 1150 hectares
and also to excavate and concrete the foundations for the turbines.
Higgins Contracting started the project in November.
All the concrete for the project is being supplied by Higgins Concrete of Palmerston North. Rob Green of Higgins Concrete advises that to date they have supplied concrete for the roading and in early March had started the first of the turbine bases. Although the inclement weather at the bottom of the North Island was causing access problems.
“Our concrete is being used as the mass for the base of each tower,” explains Rob Green. “We are using larger 30mm aggregate for added strength with a mixture of general purpose cement and flyash. The flyash minimises heat generation from the hydration process.
“We have also set up a concrete batching plant on site at Te Apiti that we have imported from the United States for the production of the large quantity of concrete required for the turbine foundations.
“The weather over the past few weeks has affected us quite dramatically. The main bridge to get there was washed out and there was also a period when the alternative route was closed. So the initial stages of the project are quite challenging.”
The Meridian Energy timetable for the project is for all the turbines to be commissioned and the wind farm to be fully operational in late Spring this year.
Golden Bay News will keep you informed on the progress of this project in future issues.