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Project Huriwaka is a proposed
wind farm A wind farm, also called a wind park or wind power plant, is a group of wind turbines in the same location used to produce electricity. Wind farms vary in size from a small number of turbines to several hundred wind turbines covering an exten ...
located on the Hihitahi Plateau between
Waiouru Waiouru is a small town in the Ruapehu District, in New Zealand's Manawatū-Whanganui region. It is located on the south-eastern North Island Volcanic Plateau, north of Palmerston North and 25 kilometres south-east of Mount Ruapehu. The tow ...
and
Taihape Taihape is in the Rangitikei District of the North Island of New Zealand. It serves a large rural community. New Zealand State Highway 1, State Highway 1, which runs North to South through the centre of the North Island, passes through the town ...
,
New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
. The project was originally developed and consented by
Meridian Energy Meridian Energy Limited is a New Zealand electricity generator and retailer. The company generates the largest proportion of New Zealand's electricity, generating 35 percent of the country's electricity in the year ending December 2014, and i ...
, but the consents were allowed to lapse. In May 2023 the rights to develop the project were acquired by
Manawa Energy Manawa Energy limited (formerly Trustpower) is a New Zealand electricity generation company that offers bespoke electricity products to commercial and industrial customers across New Zealand. Manawa energy currently operate 26 power schemes from ...
.


Consent process

Meridian Energy Meridian Energy Limited is a New Zealand electricity generator and retailer. The company generates the largest proportion of New Zealand's electricity, generating 35 percent of the country's electricity in the year ending December 2014, and i ...
applied for resource consents for a 52 turbine farm generating 130 MW in 2008. The consent hearing was held in December and
Horizons Regional Council Horizons Regional Council or Manawatū-Whanganui Regional Council () is the regional council of the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand's lower North Island. The council has 14 elected members, including a chair. The council was establishe ...
granted the resource consents in February 2009. The decision was appealed to the
Environment Court The Environment Court of New Zealand () is a specialist court for plans, resource consents and Natural environment, environmental issues. It mainly deals with issues arising under the Resource Management Act 1991, Resource Management Act, meani ...
in September 2009 and in January 2010 the court ruled the wind farm project could proceed. The approved consent conditions limited the number of turbines to 52 and maximum blade height to 135 m. In May 2015 the resource consents were extend for five years, until 2020. Consent for the wind farm lapsed in May and June 2020. In 2021 Meridian planned to apply for a new consent for the site. In May 2023
Manawa Energy Manawa Energy limited (formerly Trustpower) is a New Zealand electricity generation company that offers bespoke electricity products to commercial and industrial customers across New Zealand. Manawa energy currently operate 26 power schemes from ...
announced that it had secured the rights to develop the project. Renamed Project Huriwaka, it will generate 230MW. Development of the project and gaining resource consents is expected to take three years. In October 2024 the project was included in the National government's fast-track list. The project was increased to 300MW, with construction expected to begin in 2026.


See also

*
Wind power in New Zealand Wind power constitutes a small but growing proportion of New Zealand's electricity. As of November 2023, wind power accounts for 1,059 MW of installed capacity and over 6 percent of electricity generated in the country. New Zealand has ab ...


References

Proposed wind farms in New Zealand Manawatū-Whanganui {{NewZealand-powerstation-stub