Country New Zealand Commission date mid-2014 Rotor diameter 82.4 m (270 ft) Construction began August 2012 | Status Operational Type Onshore Owner Meridian Energy Units operational 26 | |
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Location west of Johnsonville, Wellington Similar Project West Wind, Te Uku Wind Farm, Mount Mercer Wind Farm, Te Apiti Wind Farm, Museum of New Zealand | ||
Mill creek wind farm
Mill Creek Wind Farm is a wind farm in the Ohariu Valley near Wellington, New Zealand.
The wind farm is operated by Meridian Energy and has 26 wind turbines.
The application for resource consents described the project as having a total capacity of up to 71.3MW. The wind farm will cover an area of approximately 18 km² and use 31 Siemens 2.3MW wind turbines. A 33,000-volt power line will connect the wind farm to Transpower's Wilton substation, where the farm's electricity will be injected into both Wellington Electricity's local distribution network and the national grid.
The resource consents were granted in February 2009 with conditions, including a limit of 29 turbines and a maximum height of 111m. Local Ohariu Valley residents who opposed the development lodged an appeal to the Environment Court. In August 2011, the Environment Court approved the resource consents for the project, subject to a limit of 26 turbines.
Construction began in late 2012, and the first electricity was generated in May 2014. It became fully operational in October 2014.