The board of Tilt Renewables has made the final investment decision to build the 133MW Waipipi wind farm in New Zealand, which was previously known as the Waverley project.
The NZ$276m (€159m) project has been renamed in “light of the heritage and history of the area, and TLT’s commitment to the local stakeholders and environment”, the company said.
Tilt said the wind farm is expected to reach financial close in the coming month.
Waipipi will feature 31 Siemens Gamesa 4.3MW turbines, each with a 130-metre rotor diameter.
ElectroNet Services will provide electrical balance of plant for the project, Higgins Contractors civil balance of plant and Transpower New Zealand the transmission infrastructure.
It will generate 455 gigawatt-hours of electricity a year once operational for Genesis Energy under a 20-year offtake agreement.
Tilt said funding for the project has been “underpinned with competitive project debt financing, with remaining project costs funded by internally generated equity, including funds set aside for reinvestment, rather than paid to shareholders”.
TLT chief executive Deion Campbell said: “The business is delighted to be able to commit to a material expansion of our New Zealand wind portfolio without the need for any new investment from shareholders.
“This excellent outcome reflects the capability of the Gen Tilt team and further demonstrates the quality of the investment opportunities available from our development pipeline and the benefit of our strong, cash‐generating operational portfolio.”