The first of 30 blades to be installed at the wind farm, about 10km east of Mataura, was trucked to the site yesterday.
Three blades go on each turbine, with 10 turbines under construction in the first stage of the wind farm.
Each blade is 67m long and weighs about 17 tonnes.
Following a trial run where a beam of similar length was moved on the transporter last week to test the route from South Port to the site, the trip went smoothly despite the challenging weather conditions — thanks to a big team led by contractors Vestas, and McNeilly Heavy Haulage driving the trucks.
The blade left South Port in Bluff about 2am yesterday.
The truck went through Wyndham to get to the site, turning off State Highway1 at Edendale as it was too long to cross the Mataura River bridge at Mataura.
Along with the blade, a hub — where the blades connect to the nacelle at the top of the turbine tower — was delivered yesterday on a separate truck.
It was a smaller load but weighed in at 34 tonnes.
Deliveries will continue every day except Sunday until all the components are on site — conditions permitting.
All 10 foundations are poured, set to receive the components.
Installation is expected to begin at the end of the month, with the first stage of the wind farm expected to be completed in September.
"While these loads are scheduled after midnight to minimise impact on other road users, we’d like to thank the communities for their patience while we get these pieces to site to enable us to build this wind farm," Mercury Energy principal project manager Stewart Reid said.
