Wind power in New Zealand

Under construction

Operating

Flat Hill Wind Farm

Hau Nui Wind Farm

Mahinerangi Wind Farm

Mill Creek Wind Farm

Mt Stuart Wind Farm

Tararua Wind Farm

Te Apiti Wind Farm

Te Rere Hau Wind Farm

Te Uku Wind Farm

Waipipi Wind Farm

West Wind Wind Farm

White Hill Wind Farm

Turitea Wind Farm

Harapaki Wind Farm

Large wind farms (>5MW) in New Zealand.

As of December 2020, New Zealand had an installed wind generation capacity of 690 MW.[1] In the 2020 calendar year, wind power produced 2,282 GWh of electricity, 5.5 percent of the country's electricity generation that year.[1]

A further 2,500 MW of wind farms have received resource consent.[3]

The New Zealand Wind Energy Association predicts that wind could reach 20 percent of New Zealand's annual generation by 2035.[4]

This demonstration wind turbine in Brooklyn, Wellington, was New Zealand's first turbine. It has since been upgraded. It was in operation for 22 years from 1993 to 2015.

New Zealand has outstanding wind resources, due to its position astride the Roaring Forties, resulting in nearly continuous strong westerly winds over many locations, unimpeded by other nearby landmasses at similar latitude.[5] One study found that using 1% of total available land for wind farms would produce approximately 100,000 gigawatt hours (GWh) per year.[6] This is roughly two times the annual electricity consumption of New Zealand. Nearly continuous, however, does not mean continuous: high-pressure weather systems, for instance, sometimes cover the entire country, resulting in no significant winds anywhere, and dispatchable sources like hydro and gas must take over.

The strength and consistency of New Zealand winds means the nationwide capacity factor is high compared to other countries, averaging between 30 and 35 percent, with some individual turbines recording capacity factors above 50 percent.

Wind farms and turbines generate a wide range of opinions from outright opposition to widespread acceptance. Opposition is due to noise, aesthetics and ecological factors.

Wind farms partner well with hydro plants on the same grid to create combined power plants, because hydro plants can be uprated with extra turbine units to provide highly dispatchable peak generating capacity above the average flows of their rivers, at lower cost than other peak power options.[7] During periods of high wind and low electricity demand, a hydro plant can reduce its output to accumulate water in its reservoir, whilst wind power handles a higher share of the grid load. Then during periods of low wind, the hydro plant can raise its output temporarily, drawing down its reservoir a bit. Given New Zealand's large proportion of hydroelectric generating capacity, it is better-positioned than most nations to uprate its generating stations and grid to handle intermittent power sources such as wind and solar. The available virtual energy storage represented by hydro plants can be one of the main factors limiting the maximum amount of wind and solar power that a grid can accommodate. Further increases in intermittent power source development may require construction of pumped-storage hydroelectricity and implementation of energy demand management techniques.

Only wind turbines and farms over 5 MW generating capacity are listed. Individual demonstration and prototype wind turbines have been installed at Southbridge in Canterbury,[8] Gebbies Pass near Christchurch and Brooklyn in Wellington. Many small windmills serve as windpumps on New Zealand farms.

Meridian Energy also operates a 1 MW wind farm on Ross Island, Antarctica. It is not included in the above list as it does not contribute electricity to the New Zealand national electricity network.[16][17]

• New Zealand Wind Energy Association
• "Carbon neutral wind energy can close off nuclear option" (PDF). New Zealand Wind Energy Association. 13 September 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 August 2008. Retrieved 13 September 2008.