ENERGY

Renewable Energy: Wind Farms (National)

Meridian, Contact, Genesis, Mercury (NZX-listed gentailers) · National / Multi-region

Grid-scale wind built by the listed gentailers. Operating: West Wind (142.6MW, Meridian), Turitea (222MW, Mercury), Harapaki (176MW, Meridian, $448m) and Kaiwera Downs Phase 1 (43MW, Mercury). Under construction: Kaiwera Downs Phase 2 (155MW, Mercury, $486m). Consented but uncommitted: Contact's Slopedown farm near Wyndham, about 380MW, declined in March 2025 then approved under the Fast-track Approvals Act in April 2026, with no final investment decision. The NZ Wind Energy Association counts 1,265MW operating across 21 farms at December 2025, against a pipeline of about 7.3GW.

Strongest delivery signals Data: Medium

Delivery Confidence Score, 0 to 100, higher is better: a ranking of how strong this project's delivery signals are, not a probability. It blends eight factors, including the election risk and policy alignment shown below.

Breakdown▾

Data current as at 13 Jun 2026, when the pipeline was last checked against its source.

Key facts

Region: National / Multi-region
Sector: Energy
Status: Under Construction
Estimated value: Value TBC
Indicative completion: TBC
Funding status: Fully Funded
Lead organisation: Meridian, Contact, Genesis, Mercury (NZX-listed gentailers)
Election risk: Safe

Election risk assessment

Market-driven renewable energy investment. Commercially funded. Fast RMA consent pathway exists.

Government priority alignment

HIGH: Fast-tracked renewable generation, a strong government energy priority.

Chronology

2009WestWind (142MW, Makara Wellington) opens: NZ's largest wind farm at the time
2018Turitea Wind Farm (Manawatū, 222MW) consented after long legal process
2020Harapaki Wind Farm (Hawke's Bay, 176MW) resource consent granted
2021Turitea construction begins
2023Turitea fully operational (222MW, Mercury)
2024Harapaki operational (176MW, Hawke's Bay, Meridian). Kaiwera Downs Phase 2 in construction (155MW, Mercury)
2025Contact's ~380MW Southland (Slopedown) wind farm declined in March. NZ Wind Energy Association counts 1,265MW of operating onshore wind across 21 farms at December
2026Contact's Southland wind farm approved under the Fast-track Approvals Act (April); no final investment decision taken

Source

Meridian Energy: West Wind ↗ · Meridian Energy: Harapaki ↗ · Mercury: Turitea Wind Farm ↗ · Mercury: Kaiwera Downs Wind Farm ↗ · NZ Wind Energy Association: operating onshore wind farms ↗ · NZ Wind Energy Association: onshore wind farm pipeline ↗

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