Genesis sells Hau Nui wind farm to NZ Windfarms

The Hau Nui wind farm in Wairarapa. Photo / Supplied

Genesis Energy has outlined why it sold New Zealand’s first wind farm, Hau Nui in the Wairarapa, to NZ Windfarms.

Hau Nui is a 15-turbine wind farm, 21km southeast of Martinborough.

It was built in two stages: the first stage in 1996 comprised seven, 550kw Enercon turbines, the second involved eight, 600kw Enercon turbines added by Genesis in 2004.

Meaning “big wind” in te reo Māori, the installed capacity of Hau Nui was 8.65 megawatts.

Genesis’ chief wholesale officer Tracey Hickman said Hau Nui had been a valuable asset in the company’s renewable generation portfolio for years.

“As stage one of the wind farm is nearing the end of life, we have evaluated our best options for the ongoing operation and development of Hau Nui.

“Having evaluated sale options, NZ Windfarms was seen as the ideal new operator of the wind farm and we are pleased to have landed an outcome that is a win-win.”

“NZ Windfarms has the experience and capability to continue to operate Hau Nui plus the commercial opportunity to further develop the wind resource for the benefit of New Zealand’s renewable electricity supply,” Hickman said.

The wind farm was sold for an undisclosed sum.

NZ Windfarms chief executive David Prentice said the company had a unique opportunity to align the ongoing maintenance, operation and repowering activities at Hau Nui with the company’s activities elsewhere.

“We can leverage the significant experience we have gained from operating our Te Rere Hau windfarm for many years, and achieve economies of scale and positive economic outcomes for Hau Nui and our business.,” he said.

Te Rere Hau is in the Tararua Ranges, near Palmerston North.

Hau Nui would create diversity in NZ Windfarms and maintain a revenue stream during the proposed decommissioning and repowering of Te Rere Hau.

The purchase became unconditional today, with settlement on November 25.

In an email to investors this morning, NZ Windfarms board chair Craig Stobo said: “The future for our business remains bright, with Transpower expecting New Zealand’s electrification demand to increase by 68% over the next 30 years.”

Stobo said that required independent wholesale generators such as NZ Windfarms to find and deliver more solutions to provide renewable energy for Kiwi consumers.