Mercury flicks the switch on NZ’s biggest wind farm

Mercury's Turitea South wind farm near Palmerston North.

Mercury has flicked the switch on Turitea - New Zealand’s biggest wind farm.

Energy Minister Megan Woods today cut the ribbon at a “switch-on” ceremony on the farm, in the Tararua Ranges.

Mercury chief executive Vince Hawksworth said the energy sector is key to New Zealand’s low-emissions future and that had been reflected in the high levels of investment in the sector.

Representatives of mana whenua Rangitāne o Manawatū, local government and community, and key contractors attended the opening event, three and a half years after the ground-breaking in October 2019.

“Turitea [near Palmerston North] is a site of exceptional wind quality, and our teams rose to the challenge of constructing 60 turbines and transmission infrastructure on its slopes,” Hawksworth said.

“Mercury takes a long-term view when it comes to significant investment in new electricity generation, and this includes our commitment to custodianship of this site,” he said.

The project was projected to cost $465 million when it was announced in 2019, but is now projected to cost $450m, excluding capitalised interest.

Mercury noted the project started in the same year as the Government passed the Zero Carbon Act that set up a framework to achieve the aims of the 2015 Paris Agreement, including a target to reduce emissions of all greenhouse gases (except biogenic methane) to net zero by 2050.

Turitea’s 33 northern turbines have been generating power for the grid since December 2021 and the southern 27 turbines are coming on-stream, with full operation scheduled for June.

Mercury’s next project will be the 43MW Kaiwera Downs Stage I, currently under construction near Gore, with commissioning scheduled for late this year.

“Our pipeline of further projects is almost equivalent in size to Mercury’s existing generation portfolio with over 8,000GWh being actively developed or secured, in the consenting phase or in construction,” the company said.

Turitea has the capacity to produce 840GWh hours a year - enough to power 120,000 households.

It comprises 60 turbines, with each measuring 125 metres from ground to blade tip.

Each blade is 55 metres long.