New Zealand’s 176MW Harapaki wind farm is now fully operational, having been delivered within a month of its original completion date and inside its $448m capital forecast.
The site is the country’s second-largest onshore array and developer Meridian’s general manager development Guy Waipara said the news is an incredible result and one ideally timed for electricity consumers.
Harapaki wind farm is located north of Napier on SH5 in the Maungaharuru Range. It utilises Siemens Gamesa SWT-DD-120 turbines and can produce enough electricity to power 70,000 average homes, the equivalent of most of Hawke’s Bay.
“We’re now right in the middle of winter and every bit of generation helps. Harapaki has been generating since last November and was around 90% capacity at 30 June, but reaching full capacity means this wind farm is doing everything it can to help maintain security of supply,” said Waipara.
Meridian shares Aotearoa New Zealand’s goal of transitioning to a net zero economy and has its own aspiration to deliver seven new renewable electricity projects in seven years. Harapaki is the first of these to be completed.
“Harapaki shows we have the capability to deliver,” added Waipara.
“We’ve got a world-class renewable construction team backed by a great group of contractors. What they’ve achieved in the face of COVID-19 and multiple weather events is truly outstanding.”