NZX-listed Manawa Energy has secured rights to develop a 230-megawatt wind generation project in the central North Island, between Taihape and Waiouru.
Manawa Energy chief executive David Prentice said the project on a well-known and highly regarded site for a potential windfarm.
“Project Huriwaka ticks a lot of the big boxes in that we already know it has high-quality wind, convenient access to transmission, good construction characteristics and is relatively close to significant demand for electricity.”
If it proceeded, the wind development was expected to generate around 800 gigawatt hours of electricity each year – enough to power 100,000 average New Zealand homes, Manawa said.
Design work on what the wind farm might look like had not been completed, but the site has previously been consented for around 50 wind turbines across 47 square kilometres of privately-owned rural land.