Mercury's Turitea wind farm weeks away from completion

Thursday, 9 February 2023

A view from north to south shows progress on turbine construction in the southern section of Mercury's Turitea Wind Farm.

Completion of New Zealand’s largest wind farm on the Tararua Range above Palmerston North is just weeks away, and owners Mercury are being encouraged to share the excitement with the wider public.

Former Manawatū mayor Margaret Kouvelis has chaired meetings of the Turitea Wind Farm community liaison group set up to keep landowners, neighbours and the wider public informed on progress since construction began in 2019.

She said it would soon be time for the city and region to make more of the spectacle that was being created.

The $465 million Turitea wind farm, when completed around the end of April, will have 60 turbines generating enough to power 375,000 electric vehicles or 120,000 households – about 2% of New Zealand’s national electricity demand.

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Smith Crane and Construction transport manager Mark Thompson discusses the challenge of trucking the turbine blades to the wind farm.

Kouvelis said she had been privileged to visit the construction site, and was profoundly impressed by the scale, the activity, the environmental controls, attention to detail and the views.

She said enormous progress had been happening quietly on the city’s back door step, and she hoped once the wind farm was completed, there would be a lasting legacy in terms of education and recreation opportunities.

The northern, 33-turbine stage of the wind farm has been connected to the national grid since December 2021, a milestone that passed without fanfare amid Auckland’s Covid-19 lockdown.

The northern section of Mercury's Turitea Wind Farm is complete.

Project manager Glen Twining said current efforts were focused on completing the 27 turbines in the southern stage.

Concrete foundations were poured for 25 of them, seven turbines were fully built, and another two were ready for blades to be attached.

“It’s exciting for us all to see those grow on the skyline.”

Some of the southern turbines were visible from the city, but others were tucked behind the ridge lines.

All equipment was on site for the southern substation, which would be turned on in mid-March.

Property specialist, Palmerston North-based Gareth Young, said work was progressing to stabilise and close down many of the sediment control measures that were in place during construction, and to restore the ground and landscape.

Some 2500 toetoe had been planted along roadsides, along with 5000 locally-sourced plants.

Another 15,000 plants would go in the ground in the coming planting season.

The community liaison group made several suggestions for an ongoing celebration of the wind farm’s development, including possible organised walks along North Range Rd to appreciate the views, and educational notice boards, including where the Te Araroa Trail brought walkers close to the turbines.