New Zealand renewable electricity company Mercury has completed stage two of the Kaiwera Downs wind farm near Gore in Southland, installing 36 additional turbines and increasing the site’s capacity by 155MW.
The NZ$486m expansion, completed over two years, increases the wind farm’s total capacity to 198MW. It is expected to produce an average of 675GW-hours (GWh) of electricity per year, supplying enough power for approximately 96,000 homes.
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Stage two of the project, currently the largest wind farm on New Zealand’s South Island, follows a power purchase agreement signed between Mercury and New Zealand Aluminium Smelters in 2024.
According to Mercury, the agreement played a central role in providing the confidence needed to proceed with stage two, supporting electricity supply to the Tiwai aluminium smelter in Southland.
The company reported that 129 full-time equivalent staff worked on stage two, with up to 180 people on site daily during peak construction.
Mercury CEO Stew Hamilton said: “Today we recognise the talented people who worked together to deliver this important renewable energy project for New Zealand.
“Our team has completed Stage 2 on time and on budget, demonstrating our commitment to new, renewable energy development.”
Mercury has completed five of the last six wind farm developments in New Zealand and is planning to start work on another project.
The company’s next wind initiative is the Puke Kapo Hau wind farm in Otago, also known as stage two of the Mahinerangi wind farm, with an investment of NZ$506m.
The Puke Kapo Hau site is designed to provide 228MW of capacity and is expected to produce around 646GWh of renewable electricity each year.
Mercury supported the project by signing a power purchase option agreement with Datagrid, which is developing New Zealand’s most advanced large-scale data centre in Southland.
