Source
https://chathamislandsenterprisetrust.com/renewable-energy-project — original source (opens in a new tab; the file is not redistributed)
Chatham Islands Renewable Energy Project — Point Durham Wind Farm
Real-world NZ off-grid island community case — wind + battery + diesel backstop (RT_152)
The Chatham Islands Enterprise Trust’s renewable project: an off-grid remote-island community electricity system (3× Vestas V27 = 675 kW + 576 kWh battery) displacing diesel and targeting 62–68% renewable. The primary behind CR_012’s Chatham figures. ⚠ AI-extracted from a project page (operator-reported targets/early results, not audited); data_quality medium, not independently verified.
Summary
The Chatham Islands (a remote NZ island group, ~600 km east of the South Island, no national-grid connection) historically ran on diesel generation at very high cost. The Trust’s Point Durham wind farm — three refurbished Vestas V27 turbines plus a battery — is designed to supply the bulk of island electricity, with the existing diesel plant retained as a backstop for the non-renewable balance. Early operation reports renewable shares well above target on good-wind weeks, large diesel-cost and emissions savings, and surplus generation available for future loads (e.g. heating, EVs).
Key claims
- claim: "Generation + storage (fully off-grid, no national-grid connection): 3 × Vestas V27 (refurbished) wind turbines, 225 kW each = 675 kW total (30 m tower, 13 m blades); 576 kWh battery (1C) with a 90 kVA battery inverter. The diesel plant is retained as the backstop for the non-renewable balance."
source_location: "Project page — generation/storage specs"
- claim: "Renewable share: target 62–68% of island electricity annually; ~90% achieved over a 7-day average (early November), with some days at 100% wind. Daily wind operation saves ~NZD 5,000/day in diesel on full-wind days."
source_location: "Project page — performance"
- claim: "Economics + emissions: annual diesel cost reduced from ~NZD 1.8 million/yr to ~NZD 600k/yr; ~1,300 tonnes CO₂/yr emissions reduction; ~600,000 kWh/yr surplus generation (available for future loads). Former power cost was 129.5 c/kWh."
source_location: "Project page — savings/emissions"
- claim: "Funding + delivery: NZD 10 million Climate Emergency Response Fund (CERF) grant; ~22-month construction (started 2023)."
source_location: "Project page — project/funding"Retrieval provenance
- Upstream source: Chatham Islands Enterprise Trust project page (chathamislandsenterprisetrust.com/renewable-energy-project).
- Retrieved via: WebFetch (web research), 2026-06-12.
- Prompt: extract quantitative facts on the Chatham Islands / Point Durham wind farm (capacity, turbine spec, battery, renewable share, diesel displacement, emissions, surplus, cost/funding, dates).
- Verification: values are AI-extracted from a project-promotion page and unverified — operator-reported targets/early-operation figures, not audited or peer-reviewed. The “62–68% target” vs “90% over 7 days” gap reflects a good-wind window, not the annual average.
data_quality: medium; the figures would need a re-fetch and a spot-check against an independent source (e.g. CIET annual reporting or media) before any of them is relied on.
Neobiome Intelligence relevance
A live NZ off-grid community electricity case that exemplifies several NI design choices. It is a wind + battery + diesel-backstop system reaching 62–68% renewable — a real-world instance of D20 (off-grid self-sufficiency needs an explicit backstop; here diesel covers the 32–38% non-renewable balance) and of the off-grid feasibility/economics framing (D21). The historic 129.5 c/kWh cost is an extreme avoided-cost ceiling for remote NZ (vs ~40 c/kWh national, RD_018) — remote islands are exactly where community self-sufficiency pays back fastest. The ~600,000 kWh/yr surplus illustrates oversizing for reliability (the D16/D20 reliability-vs-cost trade-off) and a productive-load opportunity (heat/EV). Resilience evidence for I06. ⚠ Project-reported, AI-extracted, medium quality — use as an illustrative case, not a calibration source. Resolves RT_152.
Research targets
Research gaps
- An independent / audited account of Point Durham (annual renewable share, actual LCOE, battery dispatch) — e.g. CIET annual reports, EECA documentation, or media — would lift this from a project-promo capture (medium) to a verified case. Noted, no RT opened (low priority; the case is illustrative, not load-bearing).
Connections
Links to
Sources (1): RD_018
Referenced by
Technologies (2): Diesel Genset (community-scale backup) · community-scale)
Sources (2): LIT_068 · LIT_084
EDT domains (1): D01: Renewable Energy & Storage Systems