October 2005

Wind Prospect is expanding its presence in the Asia Pacific region with the provision of engineering support for Fiji's Butoni Wind Farm, which is currently in the construction phase. Butoni is located in the southwest corner of the island of Viti Levu.

Butoni Wind Farm will be Fiji's first large-scale wind farm, and will consist of 37 Vergnet wind turbines totalling 10MW. It will also be the first grid connected wind installation in Fiji. The machines will be mounted on 55m towers and have 32m rotor diameters and produce up to 275kW each.

Wind energy installations in the South Pacific present a special set of challenges in that they must be able to withstand cyclones. In order to overcome this, the turbines will be erected on guyed tilt-up poles which can be lowered during extreme weather events.

Wind Prospect brings its considerable wind farm construction experience to this project, where support services include:

• Compiling engineering, quality and safety management plans
• Compiling subcontracts for this multi-contract project
• Providing project management support
• Contract mobilisation and 'kick-off' meetings
• Supporting and training the Construction Engineer and Project Engineer
• Liaison with the System Controller and National Control Centre

It is widely recognised that many of the Pacific islands are highly vulnerable to climate change, as they are particularly low-lying. This project represents a milestone in Fiji's vision for a sustainable future.