Towers for Mercury's wind farm assemble with helicopter help

Wednesday, 9 December 2020

One of the transmission towers serving Mercury's Turitea wind farm takes shape on the ridges above Palmerston North.

The transmission line that will connect Mercury’s Turitea wind farm above Palmerston North to the national grid is in line for completion by Christmas.

In recent months a fleet of helicopters, including a giant Kāhu Blackhawk, has been ferrying components for the 38 transmission towers and poles up the Tararua Range.

The completion of the 12-kilometre transmission line by Electrix and contractors would be a key milestone in the $450 million project, said Mercury project director Dennis Radich.

“This infrastructure supports both the 60-turbine Turitea wind farm and the future development on the Puketoi Range to the east, where Mercury has consents to construct a 53-turbine wind farm.”

* New route needed to get giant turbine blades to wind farm

* Foundations started to harness Manawatū winds

The Blackhawk helicopter lifts the final section on to a transmission tower at Mercury's Turitea wind farm. A smaller Squirrel helicopter delivers components in the background.

At the peak of activity on the transmission line, 90 workers were onsite and up the poles, including Electrix linesmen, Hamilton-based foundation crew and Manawatū contractors.

Crew members work at the top of a transmission tower at Mercury's Turitea wind farm to secure the last section delivered by helicopter.

The most sensitive part of the project was erecting the six towers that stand in the Turitea Reserve, the city’s water catchment area.

To avoid having to cut access tracks through the vegetation, helicopters flew in the components and equipment for the foundation and for assembly of the towers.

Four types of helicopters were used, including the Kāhu Blackhawk, which can lift 3.6 tonnes.

On the ground, Electrix brought in a JCB 4WD off-road capable concrete truck, believed to be the only one of its kind in New Zealand.

The truck is articulated to be easily manoeuvred and is capable of handling steep slopes, allowing concrete to be delivered to remote sites.

Radich said a lot of planning had gone into the logistics and delivery of the transmission line project.

The wind farm blades are sitting on Rangitīkei St, waiting to be moved up the hill.

Before Christmas, the cables would be roped through, ready to start conducting once the northern group of 33 turbines started generating in the middle of 2021.

Groundwork and environmental protection works and excavations had begun on the southern group of turbines, due for completion by the end of 2021.

The finishing touches to that part of the project would be connections at two new substations to be built at the northern and southern ends of the site after the Christmas break.

Meantime, back in the urban area, Vestas turbine blades, hubs and nacelles are being stored at Rangitīkei St and Keith St, while a plan for getting the 55-metre blades up the hill is developed.

A new road partially built to bypass the S-bends on the Pahīatua Track had slipped and failed.

Radich said there was little hope it could be stabilised enough to work, and the land would be reinstated and restored.

Vestas was working on various negotiations to find an alternative route for the blades, which were needed onsite at the wind farm by early February.