Renewable

November 12 (Renewables Now) - New Zealand power producer Mercury NZ Ltd (NZE:MCY) will make use of the consent it got for the Turitea project in full and will build a wind farm with a capacity of 222 MW rather than just 119 MW.

In March, the company contracted Vestas Wind Systems A/S (CPH:VWS) to build a 33-turbine wind park at Turitea near Palmerston North, using the V112-3.45 MW turbine model in a 3.6-MW Power Optimised Mode. Now, the two parties have amended the contract to add a further 27 turbines with a combined capacity of 103 MW. The additional machines will be of the same model but with a higher peak output at 3.8 MW per turbine.

This will form New Zealand’s largest wind farm with a total capacity of 222 MW, capable of producing about 840 GWh a year. The expansion alone will require an investment of NZD 208 million (USD 131.6m/EUR 119.4m), to be funded from existing debt facilities.

On-site construction work on the additional section is planned to begin this summer in conjunction with existing construction activities.

“We are pleased to be able to announce this closely following the passing of the Zero Carbon Bill by the New Zealand Parliament,” Mercury’s CEO Fraser Whineray said, referring to a newly enacted legislation that introduces a target to cut greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050.

(NZD 1.0 = USD 0.633/EUR 0.574)