Harapaki, NZ’s 2nd-biggest wind farm, goes fully operational

Hawke's Bay's $448 million Harapaki wind farm.

Harapaki, New Zealand’s second-largest wind farm, has become fully operational, says Meridian Energy.

The company said the project had been delivered within a month of its original completion date and inside its $448 million capital forecast.

Meridian says it can produce enough electricity to power 70,000 average homes, the equivalent of most of Hawke’s Bay.

The generator’s general manager development Guy Waipara said Harapaki becoming operational was ideally timed for electricity consumers.

“We’re now right in the middle of winter and every bit of generation helps,” he said.

“Harapaki has been generating since last November and was around 90% capacity at June 30, but reaching full capacity means this wind farm is doing everything it can to help maintain security of supply,” he said.

Meridian aims to deliver seven new renewable electricity projects in seven years.

Harapaki was the first to be completed.

The project faced a series of setbacks in the form of Covid-19 and extreme weather events.

The wind farm is north of Napier on SH5 in the Maungaharuru Range.

It uses Siemens Gamesa SWT-DD-120 turbines.