Te Rere Hau Wind Farm facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Te Rere Hau Wind Farm |
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| Country | New Zealand |
| Location | Tararua Ranges |
| Coordinates | 40°23′18″S 175°43′27″E / 40.38833°S 175.72417°E |
| Commission date | 2011 |
| Owner(s) | NZ Windfarms |
Te Rere Hau is a large wind farm in New Zealand. It uses the wind to create electricity. It is owned and run by NZ Windfarms Ltd. You can find it in the Tararua Ranges, about 11 kilometers east of Palmerston North.
This wind farm helps power many homes. It also helps the environment by making clean energy.
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How Te Rere Hau Wind Farm Works
Te Rere Hau uses many wind turbines to make electricity. These turbines spin when the wind blows. This spinning motion creates power.
Building the Wind Farm
The idea for Te Rere Hau started a long time ago. In 2003, the New Zealand government helped the project. They wanted to reduce greenhouse gases, which cause pollution.
The wind farm was built in stages.
- The first part opened in September 2006. It had five large turbines.
- More turbines were added in 2009. This included 28 turbines in Stage 2 and 32 turbines in Stage 3.
- The final part, Stage 4, was finished in 2011. It added another 32 turbines.
In total, Te Rere Hau has 97 wind turbines. They can make 48.5 megawatts (MW) of power. This is enough electricity for about 18,000 homes! In one year (up to June 2015), the turbines made 123 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electricity.
Special Turbines
The turbines at Te Rere Hau are called Windflow 500. They are made right in New Zealand by a company called Windflow Technology.
These turbines are 30 meters tall. Their blades spin in a circle 33 meters wide. They have a special two-bladed design. This makes them look different from other wind farms nearby, like Tararua and Te Apiti.
Te Rere Hau was the first commercial wind farm in New Zealand to use turbines made in the country. This is great because over 90% of the money spent on the project stayed in New Zealand.
Noise and the Community
Sometimes, people living near wind farms can hear noise from the turbines. In July 2012, some people in Palmerston North complained about noise from Te Rere Hau.
The Palmerston North City Council (PNCC) took the case to the Environment Court. This court deals with environmental issues. The court first decided that the wind farm was too noisy.
However, NZ Windfarms appealed this decision. They took the case to a higher court, the High Court, in 2013. The High Court agreed with NZ Windfarms. The City Council then tried to appeal again in 2014, but they were not successful.
