8 | Meridian Energy - Wellington: Harapaki Windfarm T T Richard Loader Powering towards a zero-carbon future Harapaki Windfarm can produce enough electricity to power 70,000 average homes, the equivalent of most of Hawke’s Bay. REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT Located north of Napier on SH5 in the Maungaharuru Range, Harapaki Wind Farm is New Zealand’s second-largest wind farm and is now fully operational, having been delivered within a month of its original completion date and inside its $448 million capital forecast. Meridian’s general manager development, Guy Waipara, says this is an incredible result and one ideally timed for electricity consumers. “We’re now right in the middle of winter and every bit of generation helps,” Guy said when speaking to Business Central earlier this year. “Harapaki has been generating since last November and was around 90% capacity at 30 June, but reaching full capacity means this wind farm is doing everything it can to help maintain security of supply.” Meridian shares New Zealand’s goal of transitioning to a net-zero economy and has its own aspiration to deliver seven new renewable electricity projects in seven years. Harapaki is the first of these to be completed. “Harapaki shows we have the capability to deliver. We’ve got a world-class renewable construction team backed by a great group of contractors. What they’ve achieved in the face of Covid-19 and multiple weather events is truly outstanding. The project has faced challenges, including high rainfall and strong winds — ideal conditions for energy generation but very challenging during turbine installation, especially in the spring.” With over 2400 people contributing to the project since its inception, Guy acknowledges that a key objective was to prioritise local labour, goods, and services. “We’re proud to have maintained an average of 50% locally employed staff, peaking at 57% during civil works. We’ve had a great group of contractors and a site team that have worked really well together. It has been a really great collaborative effort and that must be commended.” The project marks several industry and company firsts, particularly in sustainability, using innovative strategies and processes to reduce waste and maintain low carbon emissions. A novel foundation design that required less concrete, coupled with an onsite concrete plant, significantly decreased transportation needs from Napier. “We averaged an impressive 75% of project materials diverted from landfill, by being reused on-site or within the local community. Reusable materials, such as wooden pallets, tarpaulins, old fencing, and drainage pipes, have been redistributed. This commitment to reusing materials extends to our existing wind farms, where all materials reaching the end of their life-cycle are either recycled or stored until a sustainable solution is available. “Harapaki sets a new standard for reducing embodied greenhouse gases, from the initial design phase to construction and operation. “We’ve saved more than half the expected emissions of business-as-usual construction methods. We aim to apply the same approach to all our future renewable-energy construction projects.” Harapaki Windfarm utilises Siemens Gamesa SWT-DD-120 turbines. It can produce enough electricity to power 70,000 average homes, the equivalent of most of Hawke’s Bay. The electricity generated from Harapaki will enhance resiliency and security of supply for the Hawke’s Bay. The Harapaki Wind Farm stands as a testament to innovation in energy generation and as a commitment to sustainable practices in the journey towards a greener future. “Protecting and enhancing New Zealand’s existing renewable generation assets is critical and so is building to meet future growth in demand for electricity. Electrification remains the obvious catalyst for New Zealand to achieve a net-zero-carbon economy. New Zealand’s long-term target of net zero emissions by 2050 will require around $30 billion of investment in new renewable generation. “For Meridian to do our share of the heavy lifting we’ll need to build the equivalent of 20 large wind farms (i.e. Harapaki size) in the next 27 years. “We’re investing strongly in our pipeline of new renewable generation opportunities and our capability to deliver them.” Meridian’s renewable development team has more than doubled in size in the past couple of years and more than doubled the size of the renewable development pipeline of potential projects. “We now have a deep pipeline of 4.7GW (11.1 TWh) of development options, with 1.5GW of that capacity secured and 3.2GW in advanced prospects (2.4GW solar, 2.1GW wind and 0.2GW battery storage). “The energy sector as a whole is embarking on a growth phase that will be greater than any other in New Zealand’s history. “There is no shortage of good renewable options in this country and no shortage of capable, well capitalised businesses wishing to develop them.” EXPERIENCE RELIABILITY INNOVATION. 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