Wind not wanted . .
Windy weather is usually just what you want for a wind farm – just not while you’re assembling one.
Pioneer Generation Ltd began attaching three-bladed hubs to the eight 44m-tall towers at Flat Hill Wind Farm near Bluff late last week but was hampered by poor weather this week.
Two of the towers now have their 30m-long blades attached, but Pioneer Generation site safety manager Dave McColl said the forecast did not look helpful for the next few days. ‘‘The first one is always the hardest, especially since it’s been a couple of years since the last one [we built],’’ he said.
The hubs were assembled on the ground before being lifted into place by cranes. The poor weather didn’t just delay using the cranes. Workers could not prepare them for lifting either, McColl said. ‘‘They’re not built to be left out in the wind and rain without turning, so we either have to build them the night before and get them up the next day, or assemble them and get them up in one day, which is a huge task.’’
Meanwhile, electrical testing in preparation for commissioning the farm would continue. An underground cable to connect the farm with the national grid had been laid, and testing was ongoing to ensure the connection, McColl said. Weather permitting, it was hoped residents would begin to see blades turning in the next two weeks.