Mount Erebus on Ross Island in Antarctica, with Scott Base in the foreground.
Photo: AFP
Antarctica New Zealand is finally moving to fix blades for its wind farm at Ross Island and get new turbines built..
The first of three new towers and turbines was meant to be installed near Scott Base months ago, but two sets of blades were damaged at sea in January and have been sitting in Christchurch ever since.
Then the wind turbine supplier Emergya Wind Technologies (EWT) went into administration in March and soon ceased trading, according to Antarctica NZ.
EWT was declared bankrupt in March, Dutch media reported.
Antarctica NZ is now advertising for a new contractor to do the repairs, take down the three old wind farm towers and put up three new ones.
That installation is now due to start in November next year.
The tender documents also show extra costs being incurred.
“One blade set is damaged beyond economic repair, and the other has sustained moderate to minor damage,” said the document.
“An additional new blade set has been secured.”
The aim of the three turbines is to provide 90 percent of the power that Scott Base needs once it is rebuilt.
The base redevelopment is a fraught project with a huge budget – the ‘master plan’ had to be redone, with an independent review imposing big changes last year to try to bring it in within a budget of almost $500m.
Down to -73 degrees
The winning contractors face a daunting task.
The turbine installation will take place in average temperatures between -5 and -30. The blades and turbines are specially made for extreme cold.
But “danger” conditions on the ice comprise a windchill lower than -73 degrees, winds of more than 100km/h and visibility under 30m.
“Travel to Ross Island is extremely limited and is prioritised for scientific study”, so the work team had to be a maximum of six members, said the tender document.
The wind farm project was tied to the Scott Base rebuild, but then separated out.
‘High value, high risk’
The base rebuild is in Treasury’s ‘ High Value High Risk’ category.
BusinessDesk has reported Antarctica NZ was seeking $50m in private sponsorships to top things up.
The first of three stages – sleeping, ablutions, kitchen/dining, medical, administration, plant and infrastructure, and targeted refurbishment of science and engineering facilities – had its $57m capital budget approved in 2021.
The new design uses a small modular construction methodology and conventional on-site framing, rather than the original larger-scale modular construction methodology.
A detailed business case for the whole project is due next year.
The overhauled wind farm would also meet the requirements for supplying renewable energy to the US’s McMurdo Station.
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