Retorts

Wind Research

In response to [Trevor Reeves's and Judith Wolfe's letter [August], it should be noted that over the past four years Electricorp Production has spent more than a million dollars on research each year.

About 20% of this money has been spent investigating new generation sources such as wind, wave and wood power.

New Zealand, however, is not a world leader in terms of solar energy intensity (unlike California and Australia).

Presently, Electricorp Production is in the process of obtaining planning permission and tender bids to install a large wind turbine generator near Wellington. This will, depending on the model chosen, generate between 200 and 600kW; the tower will be 30 metres high and the rotor diameter could be up to 40 metres. This demonstration wind turbine will be evaluated over a period of 10-15 years to determine what the life-cycle operational and maintenance costs of wind generators are in New Zealand conditions. If this trial is successful, then, depending on the economics, wind power could provide another potential alternative for electricity generation.

E P M Brown, Research Manager, Electricorp Production