The turbine runner, installed when the Benmore power station was commissioned in 1965, has been mounted by Meridian Energy Ltd on a concrete foundation outside the Otematata Lakes Hotel on State Highway 83 as a reminder of the town's origins as a construction village for the Benmore dam and, after that, the Aviemore dam.
The runner has come from unit three in the powerhouse and was spun by water falling through the penstocks, driving the generator through a 1m-thick shaft.
Meridian is carrying out a two-year-long $67 million refurbishment of the six turbines in the powerhouse and upgrading the link to both Transpower's grid and local networks.
Unit three is the second-last turbine to be refurbished and a new runner has been fitted.
Four turbines have already been done, unit one is next and the project is on schedule to be completed in February.
The unit three runner was removed from the powerhouse, abrasive-blasted, primed and then given two coats of paint which will last about 10 years.
It was mounted next to the state highway on a concrete foundation funded by the Aoraki Trust, along with an information board that shows how it worked.
Meridian's general manager of markets and production Neal Barclay said that during the runner's working life, 63 million cubic metres passed through it and it helped generate 15,500GWh electricity - enough to supply 38,000 homes for a year.
Meridian was proud to present the runner to Otematata because of its close relationship with the Benmore dam, he said yesterday when officially handing over the unit to the township.
Otematata Residents' Association chairman John Munro accepted the runner on behalf of the community and said it was "an important engineering structure" which showed the town's links with hydro generation.
About 50 people were at the handover, including Meridian staff and contractors involved with the Benmore refurbishment.
