Puketoi Wind Farm Explained

Puketoi Wind Farm
Location:Puketoi Ranges
Country:New Zealand
Owner:Mercury Energy
Status:p
Ps Units Operational:up to 53
Ps Electrical Capacity:310 MW

The Puketoi Wind Farm is a proposed wind farm project in the Tararua District of New Zealand. The project is planned by Mercury Energy.

History

Mercury Energy (then known as Mighty River Power) applied for resource consent for the project in August 2011.[1] Consent for 53 turbines and a transmission line was granted in June 2012.[2] Three appeals against the project were withdrawn in June 2013.[3] Mighty River said they did not expect to begin construction for three to five years.[3] The consent lapses in 2023.[3]

In March 2019 Mercury announced that development of the nearby Turitea Wind Farm would support the future development of Puketoi. In March 2021 Mercury had no estimated completion date for the project.[4] In March 2023 that the resource consent had been extended until 2031 and that the allowed turbine blade diameter had been increased.[5]

Location

The proposed site is in the Puketoi Ranges, approximately 40km south of Dannevirke.[3] The site will be connected to Mercury's existing Turitea Wind Farm with a 220 kV transmission line.[6]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Mighty River Power lodges application for wind development at Puketoi . Mighty River Power . 3 August 2011 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20111004160616/http://www.mightyriver.co.nz/News/Detail.aspx?id=2756 . 4 October 2011 .
  2. Web site: Mighty River Power granted consent for new wind farm . New Zealand Herald . 25 June 2012 . 27 June 2021.
  3. Web site: Puketoi wind farm gets final go-ahead . Janine Rankin . Stuff . 5 June 2013 . 27 June 2021.
  4. Web site: Calculating NZ’s renewable electricity gap . Marc Daalder . Newsroom . 18 March 2021 . 27 June 2021 . a Mercury spokesperson was unable to provide an estimated completion date or annual generation, as the project is still in its nascent stages..
  5. Web site: Winding road to turbine sites provides lessons for next wind farm projects . Stuff . Janine Rankin . 18 March 2023 . 18 March 2023.
  6. Web site: New wind farm a further step to low carbon future . Mercury Energy . 27 June 2021.