A truck carrying a 64-metre long wind turbine blade for Waipipi Wind Farm in South Taranaki tipped on its side along State Highway 45 on Tuesday.
The PTS Logistics truck is reported to have slid into a ditch and tipped over while moving around a bend at the intersection with Hamption Road, Ōkato.
Emergency services were called to the scene just before 8am and the driver was reported to be shaken but uninjured.
The New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) warned motorists of delays with the road under stop/go traffic management until all lanes were reopened around 2:30pm
The $277 million wind farm project is operated by Tilt Renewables and will feature 31 Siemens Gamesa turbines generating 4.3 MW.
Each turbine has a 130m rotor diameter, the largest ever installed in New Zealand. Once operational, the average annual generation of clean electricity will be 455GWh. This will be sold to Genesis Energy under a 20‐year offtake agreement.
Tilt Renewables executive general manager renewable developments Clayton Delarter told Stuff.co.nz it appeared the blade escaped major damage in the accident.
