New wind farm for Wellington… In 2001 four landowners and a long time Ohariu Valley resident formed a plan to farm the wind on their land, west of Wellington. Over ten years on, their idea is coming to fruition as Meridian Energy begins construction of Mill Creek wind farm. The landowners chose wind farming to support the ongoing viability of their farms. They felt it would better preserve the lifestyle and rural character of the area than other options such as housing subdivision or forestry. The 60MW wind farm is located north of West Wind wind farm. Mill Creek shares West Wind’s geography and wind resource. It is expected to slightly outperform the existing wind farm, with a predicted capacity factor of 45% compared to West Wind's 43%. Between West Wind and Mill Creek, Wellington’s wind farms will produce enough electricity to power the equivalent of 100,000 average New Zealand homes – well over the number of houses in Wellington City. Mill Creek will have 26 Siemen’s 2.3 MW turbines. The project is expected to cost $169 million and take 30 months to construct. Full power is expected in mid 2014. Once the project is complete, New Zealand’s wind farms will have a combined capacity of 682 MW and generate 5% of our electricity. The alignment of a number of external factors enabled the project to go ahead - including the strong NZ dollar, an easing of steel prices and highly competitive turbine technology and construction industries. About mill creek http://www.meridianenergy.co.nz/what‐we‐do/our‐projects/wind‐ projects/mill‐creek/ Meridian to build Mill Creek wind farmhttp://www.meridianenergy.co.nz/company/news/media‐releases/company/meridian‐ to‐build‐mill‐creek‐wind‐farm/ 2013 NZ Wind Energy Conference 25-27 March, Wellington The annual NZ Wind Energy Conference and Exhibition is the must-attend event for anyone with an interest in wind energy – so start planning your participation now. Getting involved early enables you to take full advantage of the sponsorship, exhibition and presenting opportunities. Present at the conference We welcome proposals that will be of interest to general audiences as well as those that take an in- depth look at specialist topics. Our preference is for presentations that relate practical experience or case studies; present new work or new perspectives on known material; and suggest future directions. Proposals for presentations should be sent to [email protected] by 12 October. Please use the proposal form. Sponsor or exhibit If your company provides technology, products, services or advice to the wind energy and electricity industries, then you need to be at the 2013 Wind Energy Conference and Exhibition. It is the ideal place to communicate with all the players in New Zealand’s wind energy industry. Read the sponsorship and exhibition prospectus. Download the booking form. The excess capacity myth and investment in new generation Eric Pyle, CEO Following Meridian’s Mill Creek announcement, market analysts commented that there is significant excess of electricity generating capacity in New Zealand. With demand flat, why build new generation? Markets should encourage innovation and drive least-cost solutions. In the electricity sector this means lower cost generation is used instead of higher cost generation. This happens on an hourly basis in New Zealand’s electricity market. This does mean there will be excess capacity as more expensive generation is replaced over time by lower cost generation. If wind is genuinely the most cost-effective form of new generation and has a lower cost of energy than some existing generation, then wind generation will be built. The more expensive generation will be used less and less until it is retired. In this light, the excess capacity is simply a shift to the most cost-effective generation at the time and a product of a well-functioning market. Analysis of 2010 data by Deloitte indicates that wind is being developed for as lows as $78/MWh in NZ, which is competitive with the costs of other forms of generation. The general view in the wind industry is that costs have reduced since that analysis was completed, and will continue to do so as turbine technology continues to improve. Some very interesting analysis from the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) highlights that the cost of energy (expressed as dollars per megawatt-hours) from wind turbines is falling, and more notably so when the cost of raw materials, such as steel, is levelised. The key point from the analysis is that the amount of energy able to be produced is increasing for any given site as a result of improvements in technology. The impact of improving technology is positive for the bottom line of wind farm developers – the cost of energy is reducing, all other factors being equal. Gamesa for example has publicly stated that it expects the cost of energy from wind turbines to reduce 30% over the next three years as a consequence of turbine improvements. So, should we be worried about overcapacity? No. Avoiding overcapacity would imply a return to the good old days of electricity shortages in dry years, potential blackouts, increasing prices and the inevitable political interference to ‘fix’ the problem. Remember those good times? Rather than a problematic excess of capacity, perhaps we are seeing the electricity market working coupled with fundamental changes to the costs of generation. New wind farms are one sign of this, signals that the coal units at Huntley will be phased out are another sign. Read more: Ireana report: Renewable Energy Cost Analysis - Wind Power IEA report: The Past and Future Cost of Wind Energy Electricity generation trends Wind generation continues its upward trend according to recent The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s (MBIE, formerly the Ministry of Economic Development) energy publications. New wind farms resulted in a 19% jump in wind generation during the 2011 calendar year, according to the 2012 edition of the Energy Data File, It also notes that wind generation has grown at an average of 30% annually over the last decade. Record low water inflows into the South Island have resulted in an overall drop in renewable generation this year. The latest Energy Quarterly reveals that the renewable share of electricity generation dropped to 64% during the June 2012 quarter. Hydro output and total electricity demand in the June 2012 quarter were similar to the last dry year in 2008, however renewable generation was boosted this quarter by new renewable generation. The Energy Quarterly states: “the increased geothermal and wind generation commissioned in the last few years encouraged a 17% drop in the generation required from gas and coal in the June quarter when compared to the June quarter of 2008.” which is the lowest share since the June 2008 quarter of 2008 when renewables made up just 56% of generation under similar conditions. Read more: Energy Data File March 2012 Energy Quarterly Wind farm round up Castle Hill Four appeals have been lodged against the consent for Genesis Energy’s proposed Castle Hill wind farm in the Wairarapa. http://windenergy.org.nz/nz‐wind‐farms/proposed‐wind‐farms/castle‐hill Long Gully A group of Brooklyn residents are exploring options to construct one or two turbines at the consented Long Gully site near Wellington. Windflow received consent for a 25 turbine wind farm at the site in 2009. Read more... http://windenergy.org.nz/nz‐wind‐farms/proposed‐wind‐farms/castle‐hill Awhitu TrustPower is considering options to build a wind farm at Awhitu, a site that was originally consented by Genesis Energy, TrustPower still has to fully assess the site, but sees the wind farm could work in synergy with its 9 MW diesel peaking plant, which was installed last year near Whangarei to limit the company's exposure to peak wholesale prices in the region. http://windenergy.org.nz/nz‐wind‐farms/proposed‐wind‐farms/awhitu Hurunui The Environment Court hearing for Meridian’s proposed Hurunui Wind Farm began in late August Meridian initially applied for consent for the 33-turbine North Canterbury project in February 2011. The application was directly referred to the Environment Court at Meridian’s request and with the agreement of the Hurunui District Council and Canterbury Regional Council. Wind on Stewart Island? Venture Southland is investigating options for renewable power generation on Stewart Island. Diesel is used to generate electricity currently one Stewart Island, which results in much higher electricity prices than elsewhere in NZ. A similar situation led to the development of a small wind farm in the Chatham Islands. Read more… Te Rere Hau The Environment Court has found that Te Rere Hau wind farm is not operating in accordance with its consent condition in relation to noise. http://www.stuff.co.nz/manawatu‐standard/features/7260262/Farm‐in‐breach‐of‐condition Puketoi The consent for Mighty River Power’s proposed Puketoi wind farm, in the northern Wairarapa has been appealed to the Environment Court by three parties. Two appeals are from neighbours and relate to the effects of construction traffic and a batching plant on one house, and the amenity effects of seven turbines on another house. In the news and on the net Meridian to build Mt Mercer, Australia Meridian is building its third wind farm in Australia, the 131 MW Mt Mercer wind farm in Victoria. Meridian will use 64 REpower turbines at the wind farm. Construction will start in December and take about two years. The project is expected to cost approximately AUD$260 million.Read more … World’s longest blades Siemens has built the world's longest blades for wind turbines.