Mercury to build first 33 of 60 consented wind turbines at Turitea near Palmerston North in New Zealand
Image Source: mercury.co.nzNew Zealand’s Mercury has committed to the construction of the first 33 of 60 consented wind turbines at Turitea near Palmerston North, representing a key milestone in New Zealand’s renewable energy development. The 119MW Turitea wind farm will generate 470 GWh per annum on average, enough electricity to power 210,000 cars. When generation connects to the national grid at Linton, with commissioning expected to begin from late 2020, Turitea will be New Zealand’s third largest wind farm. It will be the first large-scale generation addition to New Zealand’s capacity since 2014. Transmission and other infrastructure from this project is scaled to support the development of the remaining 27 turbines at Turitea and on the Puketoi range to the east, where Mercury has consents to construct a 53-turbine wind farm.
Mercury has contracted with Vestas-New Zealand Wind Technology Limited, a local subsidiary of Vestas Wind Systems A/S (the world’s largest wind turbine supplier), to construct and maintain the Turitea wind farm. This arrangement consists of a full engineer, procure and construct (EPC) contract and a long-term service and availability agreement. Mercury is contracting separately with Electrix Limited and Transpower for the design and construction of the 220kV transmission line and grid connection to Linton. These transmission assets will cater for generation growth at the site, and the future development of the nearby Puketoi wind farm. On-site construction is planned to start around August 2019 and the overall cost for the project is estimated to be $256 million. This will be funded from existing debt facilities.
Mercury’s Chief Executive, Fraser Whineray, said that “Current market conditions indicate that new renewable energy capacity is required for New Zealand, and Mercury is pleased to step forward with a wind farm development it has been working towards for 15 years. The estimated NZD 256 million project supports the opening up of a further NZD 750 million investment opportunity in wind energy development.”
Mercury already generates around 6,800GWh of renewable electricity per annum, approximately 16% of New Zealand’s total electricity generation, from its hydro and geothermal stations located in the central North Island, close to areas of high demand and growth. It operates solar business Mercury Solar, and has a 60kWp solar array at its Penrose R&D centre. Mercury also owns 19.99% of Tilt Renewables, which operates and develops wind farms in New Zealand and Australia.
Source : STRATEGIC RESEARCH INSTITUTE, STEELGURU
