Harapaki Wind Farm | |
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![]() Harapaki Wind Farm from Napier | |
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Country | New Zealand |
Location | Hawke's Bay |
Coordinates | 39°11′2″S176°41′35″E / 39.18389°S 176.69306°E |
Status | Operational |
Owner | Meridian Energy |
Operator | Meridian Energy |
Wind farm | |
Hub height | 85 metres (279 ft) |
Rotor diameter | 120 metres (390 ft) |
Power generation | |
Units operational | 41 [1] |
Nameplate capacity | 176 MW |
Annual net output | 542 GWh [2] |
The Harapaki Wind Farm is a wind farm project in the Hawke's Bay region of New Zealand. Construction began in June 2021 [3] [4] and was completed in 2024. [5] As of 2024 it is the second-biggest wind farm in New Zealand. [5]
In 2006, Hawke's Bay Wind Farm Ltd was granted resource consent for a 75 turbine, 225 MW wind farm at Titiokura. [6] The same year Unison Networks was granted consent for a 15 turbine, 45 MW development. Both consents were upheld by the Environment Court in October 2006. [7] A proposed expansion of Unison's project [8] was rejected by the Environment Court in 2009. [9] [10]
In 2010 Hawke's Bay Wind Farm Ltd was purchased by Meridian Energy. [11] Unison's consent was purchased in 2011, and the sites combined. [12]
In August 2019 Meridian sought interest from potential contractors for the wind farm's construction. [12] Construction was expected to begin in 2020, but was delayed due to the possible closure of the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter. [13] In February 2021 Meridian announced that construction would begin later that year, and would take approximately three years. [14] [15] Site preparation began in mid-2021. [16] The first turbines arrived in Napier in March 2023 [17] and transportation of components to the wind farm site began in July 2023 when State Highway 5 had been sufficiently repaired following the damage caused by Cyclone Gabrielle. [18]
The wind farm began generating in November 2023 [19] [20] and reached full capacity in July 2024. [5]
The wind farm is built on the Maungaharuru Range, near the Titiokura Summit, about 34 km northwest of Napier Airport. [6] The altitude of the range is approximately 1300 metres.
The wind farm uses 41 Siemens Gamesa 4.3 MW turbines, measuring 85 m (279 ft) from base to hub with a rotor diameter of 120 m (394 ft). Electricity is supplied to the national grid via a new substation on Transpower's Redclyffe-Whirinaki-Wairakei 220 kV transmission line. [21]