New Zealand Auckland wind turbine main control system

How many kW is a wind turbine in New Zealand?

The first wind turbine built in New Zealand, Wellington’s Brooklyn wind turbine, was a 225 kilowatt (kW) turbine. Today, new wind turbines installed in New Zealand wind farms typically range from 500 kW to 3 megawatts (MW) (or 3000kW). New Zealand’s wind farms have a combined capacity of 615 MW and supply about 5% of our electricity.

What is a wind turbine system?

Wind turbine systems provide a source of renewable energy. They are most suited to windy rural locations. More on configuration, capacity, speed and power, cut out controls, factors of capacity, electricity cupply and pollution.

How does wind speed affect energy production in New Zealand?

However, New Zealand studies with small domestic turbines have found the increase is usually more linear – when wind speed doubles, the energy produced doubles. Wind speed fluctuates, which has an impact on wind electricity generation capacity and operating characteristics. In general, wind speeds are as follows:

What determines wind generation capacity in New Zealand?

In general, the available wind generation capacity is determined by the average wind speed over the year for each location. Around New Zealand, the average wind speed is typically greater in regions: towards the tops of ridges or the heads of valleys.

Does New Zealand need a hydro power plant?

New Zealand’s existing hydro generation provides an advantage for integrating a significant proportion of wind generation at a low cost. Hydro generation from lakes is a particularly good match for wind generation because hydro output can be changed reasonably quickly and easily to balance output from the wind farms.

Will NZ's wind power be 20 percent of our electricity by 2030?

Given the scale and high quality of NZ’s wind resource, wind is likely to be supplying 20 percent of our electricity by 2030. New Zealand’s existing hydro generation provides an advantage for integrating a significant proportion of wind generation at a low cost.