High winds hold power prospect

Press, 3 August 1976, Page 13

High winds hold power prospect

There is considerable potential for electricity generaation by wind in New Zealand, especially at sites such as the Rakaia Gorge, according to a survey by a task force of the Energy Research and Development Committee:

Analysis of wind records provided bv the Meteorological Service showed that manv of the stations had wind energy in the “high" or "verv high" categories—and these stations were not generally sited in the windiest locations, the first report released b v the group said. The wind energy task force which analysed the data is led bv Professor G. T. Ward, of Lincoln College, and has other members from the college. the Universities of Canterbury and Otago, the Electricity Department, the Ministry of Works and Development. and the Meteorological Service. The report was compiled by Professor N. Cherry, of Lincoln College. The task force studied the daily and seasonal variation of wind to see how this

matched electricity demand. Peak winds were common in May-June and OctoberNovember. The earlier peak corresponded with the high winter demand for electricity; and the daily peak between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. corresponded fairly closely with the daily peak demand for energy.

If groups of turbines were stationed throughout the country there would be a good chance that at least one. and probably several, of the,stations would receive plenty of wind at any time, the report said.

The areas of best potential were ground areas west of Wellington, near Cook Strait, and elevated areas of inland Otago and the Rakaia Gorge. There were other likely areas on the west coast of the North Island, coastal areas around Foveaux Strait and Stewart Island, the south-eastern coast of Dunedin, and offshore islands such as the Chathams.