Choppers to aid wind farm load
The sky above the Tararua Range will be traversed by helicopters during construction of Mercury’s $256 million Turitea wind farm project.
Mercury project director Dennis Radich told a community liaison group meeting this week final preparations were being made for activity to begin on the site of the 33-turbine development and transmission line to Linton within weeks.
A key to getting started on the project would be creating a new entrance and turning bay into South Range Rd from the Pahıatua Track to gain safe access to the site camp and wind farm.
Those works were waiting for final approval from the Palmerston North City Council.
South Range Rd itself, ‘‘the spine of the project’’, would be upgraded, strengthened and widened to 5.5 metres to support construction traffic. It would be closed to public traffic apart from two local residences during construction.
‘‘It will leave a safer public road for the community at the completion of construction.’’
Traffic bringing turbine components to the top of the ranges would use a new private access road to be created from the east side at the foot of the Pahıatua Track.
In September, work would start on upgrading Greens Rd on the outskirts of Palmerston North to provide access to the transmission line works.
Electrix project manager for the transmission works Kevin Small said design work and traffic management planning was under way.
The plan was likely to take into account visibility problems at the first Turitea Rd bridge, and on Kahuterawa Rd, as well as Greens Rd itself.
The transmission line would be supported by 38 towers and poles, down from the original 44 consented, which would reduce the amount of vegetation clearance required.
On sites inaccessible to concrete trucks, concrete and components would be flown in by helicopters, for both turbine and tower sites.
‘‘There is a lot of concrete to be poured before any towers go up,’’ said Radich.
Small said foundations for each transmission line tower could take between 15 and 30 cubic metres of concrete.
Squirrel helicopters could carry about 0.5cum each load, so there could be up to 60 helicopter trips each.
The work of the smaller helicopters would be supplemented by larger Iroquois, and a recently landed Black Hawk helicopter, which could carry up to 3.5 tonnes.
A firm date for works starting had not been set, but it would be ‘‘within weeks’’, Radich said. Much of the roading work was weatherdependent and more easily carried out in spring.
No decisions had been made on the timing of the construction of a further 27 turbines that were allowed as part of Mercury’s resource consent.