Meridian says it is to lodge resource consent applications for its Te Apiti Project, north of the Manawatu Gorge - a 55-turbine wind farm on 1150 hectares of land between Ashurst and Woodville.
Meridian recently lodged resource consents for its 524MW Project Aqua hydro scheme on the lower Waitaki River in the South Island.
The 82-96MW wind development will provide enough renewable electricity to power approximately 32,300 homes and will be the first wind farm in New Zealand to feed into the national grid.
Meridian Energy chief executive Keith Turner said wind farm proposals such as Te Apiti were essential for the security of New Zealand's energy supply. "We need wind farms to provide a diversity of supply that will help with dry years and the depletion of the Maui gas field."
New Zealand electricity generators have announced a plethora of renewable energy projects since the government signed the Kyoto Protocol late last year and began allocating climate change "carbon credits" to developers of renewable energy, in recognition of their contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
