Meridian Delays Major Windfarm Developments in New Zealand

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Perth, Australia)--The 100-megawatt (MW) Rotutuna Windfarm development in Whangarei, Northland, New Zealand, has been significantly delayed after Meridian Energy Limited (Wellington, New Zealand) said it wanted to know more about the market conditions for renewable energy in the region before continuing with the project. The Whangarei site is believed to have superior wind energy resources; however, Meridian decided to slow down the project development due to the current soft demand for electricity in New Zealand.

Meridian has proposed building the windfarm project in the Rototuna Forest in Northland. Meridian proposed the project about eight years ago and completed wind resource assessments by end of 2007. The consent application process will be performed during or after 2015, with a construction timeline depending on market demand.

Meridian Energy recently revised its development pipeline, with a focus on a smaller, more deployable set of future options.

Meridian currently holds consents for the 94-MW Maungaharuru windfarm project in Hwakes Bay, and the 120-MW Central Wind windfarm project in Waiouru Valley. The 60-MW Mount Munro Windfarm in Wairarapa and the 76-MW Hurunui Windfarm in North Canterbury are undergoing consent processes.

According to a project spokesperson, Meridian has delayed development activities on several windfarms in the region, including the 75-MW Gumfield and 94-MW Maungaharuru projects. Both windfarms are in the early scoping phase, and construction is not going to happen at least for another four to five years.

Meridian is currently focused on the 59.8-MW Mill Creek Windfarm, which has been under construction since December 2012. The windfarm is being built at Ohariu, Wellington, in New Zealand, and involves installation of 26 turbines with capacities of 2.3 MW each. The windfarm construction is scheduled for completion by end of this year.

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