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July 2016 Business South
ENERGY » Meridian Energy
Upgrade for historic Waitaki station Kelly Deeks Meridian Energy’s four-year, $40 million Waitaki Refurbishment Programme is due to be largely completed in August, with the final stage being deferred until 2017 with some complex design work still to be completed. The project is part of Meridian Energy’s rolling refurbishment programme on its generation infrastructure. The project has involved a range of work to ensure the generating units, powerhouse building, and dam remain reliable and serviceable into the future. The power station has six operational 15 megawatt generating units and generates enough electricity each year for about 62,000 average New Zealand homes. The first stage of the site works involved Meridian Energy upgrading the four station cranes. The cranes were upgraded by Farra Engineering and Wilson Electro Services and the 1930s gantry crane, which runs the length of the powerhouse and used to be accessed by walking across the crane beams, is now wirelessly remote controlled so it can be operated from the ground. Meridian Energy’s project manager for the site refurbishment works, Caroline Rea, says
the power station is an historic part of New Zealand’s electricity network and despite being almost 80 years old, the work being done will ensure it continues to provide reliable and sustainable electricity for many generations to come. “Part of this package of work is to retain the architectural look and character of the building,” she says. “We’re really proud of our assets and we see ourselves as their current custodians. “The Waitaki hydro system has been around longer than we have and it will continue to be here for a lot longer after we’ve left. “We’re not going to do anything that’s going to impact the operation or the amenity of this grand old girl.” The character of the building includes wood panelled offices and an old lift with a sliding metal grille door.
“Everyone is quite hesitant about getting in the lift!” Caroline says. “We’ve refurbished it as part of this project and made sure it’s safe, but we haven’t touched the inside of it. We want to keep that part of its history.” Another part of the project involved reinstating the site’s seventh generation unit, which hasn’t operated since the 1990s. “All of the generating units are original, from the 1930s and 1950s, and have been updated with new technology over the years,” Caroline says. “They’ve well exceeded their working life and are still operating as efficiently as ever. “When the station was built it was the only one on the river, but now it’s in a chain with Benmore and Aviemore power stations, so for the majority of the time we generate from four units.
“The Waitaki hydro system has been around longer than we have and it will continue to be here for a lot longer after we’ve left. We’re not going to do anything that’s going to impact the operation or the amenity of this grand old girl.”
“Bringing the seventh unit back online will allow us to defer the cost of replacing the generators.” Other work involved Broadspectrum upgrading the protection for the existing units so faults can be identified and rectified as early as possible. The fire suppression system was replaced by Wormald, E-Type Engineering, and Electrix. The intersection to the site has been made safer and erosion, seismic, and flood protection work has been completed around the site. McConnell Dowell won the Innovation Award at the Canterbury Civil Contractor of the Year awards last year for its erosion remediation work on the dam and power station. The company’s methodology and design included several firsts for New Zealand, including the use of Rukki interlocking drilled piles, which provide safety advantages by eliminating the need to work on the water, as well as delivering significant savings to Meridian Energy. Christchurch’s March Construction is now working on another challenging aspect of the refurbishment, drilling uplift drains in the foundations of the dam from a narrow gallery that runs through the body of the dam. Naylor Love Construction is also currently working on seismic enhancements to the Waitaki powerhouse building.
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The Waitaki power station is an historic part of New Zealand’s electricity network and the refurbishment programme will ensure it continues to provide reliable and sustainable electricity.