Kaiwera wind farm set to become largest in South Island

Mercury has kick started construction of the second and final stage of the Kaiwera Downs wind farm near Gore.

The entire 46-turbine wind farm will generate up to 198MW of renewable energy when stage two is completed in 2027. It will also stand as the largest wind farm in the South Island when constructed.

Mercury’s Chief Executive Vince Hawksworth and Gore District Council elected member Joe Stringer helped mark the start of construction of the wind farm expansion to officially get work underway.

The event was attended by representatives from iwi and hāpu, the Council, community members, landowners, Mercury and contractors who will be working on the project.

Cr Stringer congratulated Mercury for its foresight in pursuing this visionary project so many years ago.

“It is testament to the company and its project partners that today we are marking the start of work on stage 2 of the Kaiwera Downs windfarm and Mercury’s multi-million dollar commitment to renewable energy.”

The wind farm is a great development for Southland and for the Tiwai Point smelter, which will now have a diverse supply of renewable energy, from hydro-electric to wind power, from three generators including Mercury.

Cr Stringer said this would underpin further investment in renewable energy. It also gives certainty to people working at Tiwai and the local community while supporting New Zealand’s contribution to a low-carbon future.

Mr Hawksworth said the two stages of the Kaiwera Downs wind farm represented a $601 million investment towards helping New Zealand on its decarbonisation journey.

It will help power the Tiwai Point aluminum smelter in Southland for 20 years, as part of an agreement between Mercury and New Zealand Aluminium Smelters (NZAS) reached in May 2024.

“Our agreement with NZAS gives us the confidence to continue our work towards delivering more renewable energy projects for New Zealand.

“As we launch the final stage of the Kaiwera Down wind farm, we also continue to work hard to progress our premium pipeline of renewable generation projects, including our planned Kaiwaikawe wind farm near Dargaville which we are nearing a final investment decision on.”

Key highlights

• Stage 2, construction of 36 turbines, capable of generating up to155MW, will be completed in 2027. The investment in this project was $486 million.
• Stage 1, 10 turbines, generating up to 43MW, was completed in November 2023. The investment in this project was $115 million.
• The agreement with New Zealand Aluminium Smelters will take effect from January 2025 for 20 years, with baseload volume stepping up from 50MW to 75MW in 2027.