Project Hurunui Wind Construction and Project Overview

Project Hurunui Wind Construction Effects and Management Report
3.2.9 Site Lay Down Areas
WTG components will be delivered from port to site ahead of installation. Therefore lay
down or stockpile areas will be required for temporary storage of turbine components, as
well as other materials such as electrical cables. Rather than creating multiple large lay
down areas for the bulk storage of turbine components, Meridian proposes to store turbine
components near turbine locations using the turbine platforms and storage lay-bys adjacent
to access roads where possible. This is to allow for sufficient components/materials to be
stockpiled on site to meet the demand of construction crews as well as to accommodate the
arrival of several large shipments of components. Photographs F2 to F6 in Appendix F
show how turbine platforms have been used to store turbine components while being lifted
and assembled at both Project White Hill and Project West Wind. Photograph F22 shows a
typical lay down area to store turbine blades at Project West Wind.
The optimum and most strategic locations for storage lay-bys will be dependent on a more
detailed study of the construction and installation sequences. At this stage potential
storage lay-bys have been identified at the following locations:
Near Turbine A9 along existing air strip as shown on Photograph 23 in Appendix B.
Adjacent to the initial section northern access road as shown on Photograph 2 in
Appendix B.
3.2.10 Internal Cable Reticulation
A 33kV or 22kV and fibre optic internal cable reticulation system is required to link the
turbines to the substation. The internal cable layout developed for this project is a series of
separate cable strings leading from the substation connecting all turbines along each main
access road. These cables will generally be placed in trenches running along the formed
access roads. It may be necessary to adopt some overhead reticulation to avoid hard,
unstable or boggy ground or avoid a longer underground route only where the overhead
line can be masked, or hidden from the skyline. For example an overhead line will be
required to span a gully between Road D and Road A. Note this overhead line is internal to
the site and any overhead reticulation would be constructed from monopole structures no
taller than 20m.
Typical trench dimensions could be 400mm to 600mm wide and 800mm to 1000mm deep.
Where two cables run along a common road trenches will be located on either side of the
road. Where off-road routes are required, trenching operations may require a working
corridor of up to 5m (to form a cable trench) depending on the number and type of cables.
Cable trenches will typically have a granular backfill to meet required thermal resistivity and
engineered fill with pavement or topsoil (material which has been removed and stockpiled)
layer above as appropriate.
Where overhead routes are employed, routes will be selected to follow the access road and
existing tracks/fencing corridors where possible. In the event a cross country route cannot
be avoided, it is envisaged that overhead line construction will require the establishment of
an appropriate corridor including access to any transmission poles.
5C-1604.02
February 2011 34