A hill wind blows so good

Dwarfed by a turbine at the Mahinerangi wind farm site are Mercury Energy wind operations manager Russell Hyde (left) and Vestas site supervisor Ruan van Zyl. PHOTO: STEPHEN JAQUIERY

Tucked away in the backblocks of Dunedin is a champion of wind.

A trailblazer in a sector pitched as a must-have must-have across the South Island.

Proposed wind farm aims for fast track

The Mahinerangi wind farm is halfway — 15 years — into its lifespan and is performing better than projected.

Mercury Energy wind operations manager Russell Hyde said the wind farm had a site availability of 98%, right across the 15 years of operation — meaning the wind farm is producing power 98% of the time.

‘‘That is probably the leader in the six wind farms we have operating,’’ he said.

Production was helped by the topography of the area and the prevailing inland northwest winds, which were more consistent than coastal winds, he said.

Unfortunately when the Otago Daily Times visited yesterday the wind was not playing ball and the turbine blades were still.

Mr Hyde said that did not happen often and at times the turbines were still working when the wind hit 100kmh.

The turbines, with their blades, had a height of about 125m, as tall as a 25-storey office building.

The development helped establish large-scale wind generation in the South Island, Mercury Energy said.

Now, in just the Southern region of the South Island alone, 11 wind farm applications are with national grid operator Transpower.

The development of the wind farm had helped Mercury also plan for a second stage to the north on the eastern foothills of the Lammermoor Range.

Costed at $500 million-$600m is it set to include 44 extra turbines, which will be up to 155m in height.

It was going through the fast-track approvals process.