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Current wind farms, projects under construction, projects for which resource consents have been applied and potential future developments
At the end of 2006 the total installed and operational capacity of wind turbines in New Zealand was 170.8 mega watts (MW). According to Ministry of Economic Development data in 2006 these turbines produced 617 GWh of electricity, or around 1.5% of New Zealand’s total electricity generation. This is enough electricity to provide for the annual requirements of around 77,000 typical households. 151 MW of new capacity has been installed during 2007, nearly doubling the total installed capacity in New Zealand to 321.8 MW. While this will lead to a proportionate increase in the amount of electricity generation from wind power the percentage share is unlikely to rise as 385 MW of new gas-fired generation has also been installed this year (E3P at Huntly). At the start of 2004 the total installed wind generation capacity was just 36.3 MW, so this total has increased by a factor of nearly 10 times in the last 4 years. Most of this growth occurred in 2004 and 2007. While wind energy’s growth in NZ has been highly variable (i.e. little growth in 2005 and 2006 and only modest growth forecast for 2008) the industry has ‘taken off” internationally. The total worldwide capacity has grown at a compound rate of around 25% per year for the past six years. The global total is now over 70,000 MW, leaving New Zealand (at less than 0.5% of the total) some way behind the installed capacity for other developed countries. In 2006 over 15,000 MW of new wind energy capacity was installed worldwide. This is nearly twice NZ’s total capacity from all sources.
Today there are 8 wind farms in North and South Island (or 10 if you count the staged Tararua and Hau Nui developments as two separate sites). Details are available below alternatively have a look at our map which shows the location of each project.
* The total project capacity for Te Rere Hau will be 48.5 MW when all of the turbines have been installed.
This installed capacity of 321.8 MW will provide enough sustainably generated electricity, at competitive prices, sufficient to meet the needs of around 145,000 average households across the country.  top The following table lists those projects that are currently under construction
Notes: 1. When complete the Te Rere Hau project will consist of 97 turbines, producing 48.5 MW. 5 turbines (2.5 MW) are already in operation.
top Projects that have applied for resource consent The following table contains a list of projects that have applied for resource consents but which have not yet been built. NZWEA has made every effort to ensure that this list is comprehensive but can nonetheless not guarantee that all projects are included. It should also be noted that not all projects for which consent has been granted will be built and it might also be several years before construction begins.
Notes: 1. The resource consent decision (June 2007) declined consent for 52 of the 127 proposed turbines at Motorimu. An appeal was lodged with the Environment Court in July 2007. Wind farm developers are investigating the potential at a number of sites across the country. Good wind speeds and proximity to the transmission network are important considerations when investigating potential sites. In many cases projects are put on hold or abandoned after initial site investigation, as the wind resource may not be sufficient or for economic reasons. Below are links to information about proposed wind farm developments. Transpower map of existing and potential developments Yes to wind Information about specific projects
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