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Brooklyn wind turbine

The Brooklyn wind turbine was New Zealand’s first viable commercial wind turbine. Located in Wellington, it set international production records for its size. Meridian is proud to own and operate this iconic asset.

The Electricity Corporation of New Zealand installed the original Brooklyn wind turbine in March 1993. It was part of a research project on how wind turbines performed in New Zealand conditions. It then became part of Meridian when our company was formed in 1999.

In winds of 50-80 kilometres per hour, the turbine would generate up to 225 kilowatts of electricity – enough for around 110 average New Zealand homes. Power generated by the turbine was fed into the local energy network for general distribution in Wellington.

The Replacement

In April 2016 Meridian upgraded the turbine with a larger one that generates enough renewable energy to power around 490 average New Zealand homes. 

The decision to investigate a replacement to the aging Brooklyn turbine followed mechanical issues that put it out of action for several months. We asked Wellingtonians whether they wanted to keep the Brooklyn turbine. The public started a “Save the Brooklyn wind turbine” Facebook page and a Dominion Post reader survey showed 85% wanted to repair or replace it.

The original 22-year-old turbine was removed and delivered to its new owner Energy3, a supplier and installer of turbines for small commercial wind farms.

Why build a wind turbine here?

The Brooklyn site was chosen because of Wellington’s famously strong winds. Its early operation provided valuable information for assessing the benefits of wind power generation in New Zealand.

Did you know?

The turbine is a popular Wellington landmark, attracting thousands of visitors every year.

Open hours:

Summer 1 Oct - 31 March 7am - 8pm
Winter 1 April - 30 September 8am - 5pm

 

Turbine Weight and Dimensions:

Tower hub height

Top section

Base section

Blade length

Resulting tip height

44m

22m

(15 tonnes)

21.95 metres 

(32 tonnes)

20.8 metres

67 metres

Our other wind farms

It gets pretty blustery in New Zealand – which is good news for us wind farmers. We have five wind farms spread from Waikato to Southland, plus the iconic, solitary wind turbine in Brooklyn, Wellington. We’ve also designed and built a wind farm at Ross Island in Antarctica that provides power to Scott Base and McMurdo research stations.

If you’d like more information on one of our wind farms, please email community@meridianenergy.co.nz.

Our wind farms

Education resources

We reckon that by teaching Kiwi kids how we make clean energy, they’ll continue the mahi to keep Papatūānuku in good shape for our future. That’s why we’ve come up with some downloadable education resources that are aligned with the New Zealand school curriculum and have been designed and reviewed by New Zealand teachers.

Learn more