The Central Otago-based company will officially open the multimillion-dollar Flat Hill Wind Farm on private farmland near Bluff on Monday.
It is the third wind farm Pioneer has developed. As soon as the Flat Hill farm has been commissioned, it will be sold to Southern Generation Ltd, which was formed earlier this year by Pioneer, The Power Company Ltd (TPCL) and Electricity Invercargill Ltd (EIL), to focus on wind generation in Otago and Southland. Pioneer holds a 50% stake.
TPCL and EIL own and operate the electricity network across Southland and parts of Otago. Pioneer's chief executive, Fraser Jonker, declined to place a figure on the value of the Flat Hill wind farm. The figure was commercially sensitive as Pioneer had developed the wind farm but would be selling it to Southern Generation. The other sites being explored were at various stages of investigation, Mr Jonker said.
''It takes a while, as we have to monitor the wind flow for some time.''
He did not want to give the site locations as it was ''early days'' for some and they might not be suitable for wind farms. There was one site which looked promising and Pioneer was close to seeking consents for a project based there.
''However, the exchange rates would have to improve first and all the planets would need to align before it got to that stage.''
The scale of the projects being investigated varied, with some along similar lines to the Flat Hill farm and others bigger, Mr Jonker said. Flat Hill, which is one of the southernmost wind farms in the world, began generating power about a fortnight ago and six of its eight turbines are operating.
''The testing phase will probably continue until the end of September, when it will be fully in operation - you need to run it for a period of time to make sure everything is going smoothly.''
Pioneer is owned by Central Lakes Trust and its profits boost the amount distributed in trust grants. About $48 million in grants has been distributed since 2000. The Flat Hill function will start on Monday with lunch in Bluff and then guests will travel to the wind farm for the official opening by Invercargill MP Sarah Dowie.
The company's Mt Stuart Wind Farm, which began operating near Milton in December 2011, has been sold by Pioneer to Southern Generation. The company's first wind farm was three turbines at Horseshoe Bend, near Roxburgh, which began operating late in 2009.
Flat Hill wind farm
- To be operated by Southern Generation Ltd (Pioneer, The Power Company Ltd, Electricity Invercargill Ltd)
- 3km west of Bluff
- Eight turbines, each 44m high tower with three 26m blades
- Will generate enough power annually to supply about 2600 homes
