Kaiwaikawe Wind Farm
| Kaiwaikawe Wind Farm | |
|---|---|
| Country | New Zealand |
| Location | Dargaville |
| Coordinates | 35°52′8.6″S 173°43′50.85″E / 35.869056°S 173.7307917°E |
| Status | Under construction |
| Construction began | March 2025 |
| Construction cost | NZ$287 million |
| Owner | Mercury Energy |
| Operator | |
| Power generation | |
| Units operational | 12 |
| Nameplate capacity | 77 MW |
The Kaiwaikawe Wind Farm is a wind farm currently under construction in the Northland Region of New Zealand. When complete it will consist of 12 turbines with an output of 77 MW. The wind farm was initially developed by Tilt Renewables, and then by Mercury Energy following the latter's acquisition of Tilt's New Zealand assets.
Tilt applied for resource consent for the wind farm - then called Omamari - in May 2021.[1] In July 2021 Tilt signed a 20-year agreement with Genesis Energy Limited to sell the electricity from the wind-farm, which had been renamed Kaiwaikawe.[2]
The project was granted resource consent in March 2022.[3] In December 2024 Mercury announced that the project would proceed, and now consisted of twelve 206-metre Vestas V162-6.4 MW turbines with a total output of 77MW.[4] Construction began with a ground-breaking ceremony in March 2025, and the project was expected to be complete by the end of 2026.[5]
The turbines did not arrive in Aotearoa until February 2026, and were transported to the site in night-time convoys.[6][7] As of March 2026 the farm is expected to begin generation in mid-2026, and to be complete in mid-2027.[8]
Location
The wind farm will be about 10 kilometres north-west of Dargaville.[9]
See also
References
- ^ "Wind farm planned north of Dargaville could power 25,000 homes". New Zealand Herald. 20 May 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
- ^ "Genesis Energy and Tilt Renewables partner in 75MW Northland wind farm". New Zealand Herald. 2 August 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
- ^ "THE KAIWAIKAWE WIND FARM". Mercury Energy. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
- ^ "New Zealand's largest wind turbines to be built in Northland near Dargaville". Northern Advocate. 18 December 2024. Retrieved 29 March 2025.
- ^ "Kaiwaikawe Wind Farm takes next steps to power 27,000 homes with NZ's tallest turbines". Northern Advocate. 29 March 2025. Retrieved 29 March 2025.
- ^ Sarah Curtis (19 February 2026). "Northland motorists warned of night convoys for massive wind farm parts". Northern Advocate. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
- ^ Sarah Curtis (4 March 2026). "Wind turbine load tips into ditch near Kaiwaikawe Wind Farm site". Northern Advocate. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
- ^ Sarah Curtis (7 March 2026). "Inside Mercury Energy's $287m Kaiwaikawe wind farm project near Dargaville". Northern Advocate. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
- ^ "Omamari Wind Farm". Tilt Renewables. Archived from the original on 25 July 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2021.