It gets pretty blustery in New Zealand – which is good news for us wind farmers. We have five wind farms spread from Waikato to Southland, plus the iconic, solitary wind turbine in Brooklyn, Wellington. We’ve also designed and built a wind farm at Ross Island in Antarctica that provides power to Scott Base and McMurdo research stations.
Te Uku is a 28-turbine wind farm located in Waikato, New Zealand. Te Uku wind farm generates enough electricity each year for about 27,000 average New Zealand homes.
Te Āpiti was the first wind farm Meridian built in New Zealand. It was also the first wind farm to supply electricity to the national energy grid.
Construction is well under way at our $448 million wind farm in Hawke’s Bay. Harapaki will be New Zealand’s second largest wind farm, with 41 turbines generating 176 megawatts of renewable energy. That’s enough to power more than 70,000 average New Zealand homes.
West Wind uses one of Wellington’s most renowned natural resources – wind. The funnelling effect of Cook Strait means the site has strong and consistent wind speeds, making it an ideal place for a wind farm.
Mill Creek wind farm is located northwest of Wellington near Ohariu Valley. The 26 turbines generate up to 59.8 megawatts of electricity, producing enough electricity each year for about 34,000 average New Zealand homes.
The iconic Brooklyn turbine was New Zealand’s first viable commercial wind turbine, located in Wellington, New Zealand. It’s still going strong, and its early operation provided valuable information for assessing the benefits of wind power generation in New Zealand.
White Hill was the second wind farm Meridian built in New Zealand and is the only one we operate in the South Island. With 29 wind turbines, it can generate enough electricity to power around 22,000 average New Zealand homes.
We built the world's southernmost wind farm in partnership with Antarctica New Zealand. Located on Crater Hill on Ross Island, Antarctica, the three wind turbines supply renewable energy for New Zealand's Scott Base and its neighbour, the American base at McMurdo Station.
Wind farms are made up of lots of individual wind turbines. To make electricity, the turbines need to face the wind. On top of the turbine cover, known as the nacelle, sits an anemometer and a wind vane. These judge how the turbine should be positioned, so when the wind changes direction, motors turn the nacelle and blades to face into it.
The blades catch the energy in the wind, which generates lift, creating a turning force. As the blades rotate, they spin a shaft inside the nacelle, which goes into the gearbox connected to a generator. The generator converts the rotational energy into electrical energy.
The electricity then flows through cables into a transformer, and then to the wind farm’s substation, where it’s converted to the right voltage for the grid or local network.
The amount of electricity generated by a wind turbine depends on how hard the wind is blowing. In storms, wind turbines stop operating to protect themselves from extremely high winds.
The electrical capacity of large turbines range in size from 50 to 5,000 kilowatts. Single small turbines, with capacity below 50 kilowatts, are used for individual homes, telecommunications dishes and water pumps.
Our Power Up community fund supports local projects in areas in which we have generation assets. It’s one of the ways in which we recognise the importance of local communities to our operations.
If you’re based near a Meridian power station or wind farm and have a project you’d like help with, apply now!
Tackling Zero is Meridian’s quarterly newsletter for people whose roles or studies are focused on sustainability, or for whom this is an area of interest. Each issue will offer Meridian’s insights into a topical sustainability issue, as well as stories on how we, our customers and supply chain partners are tackling sustainability. It also includes links to recent Meridian disclosures such as new policies and reports.
We reckon that if we teach Kiwi kids how we make clean energy, they’ll continue the mahi to keep Papatūānuku in good shape for our future. That’s why we’ve come up with some downloadable education resources that are aligned with the New Zealand school curriculum and have been designed and reviewed by New Zealand teachers.