Te Āpiti
Wind farm, Manawatu, New Zealand
Average NZ homes this wind farm generates electricity for in a year *
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Te Āpiti wind farm is located north of the Manawatu Gorge, New Zealand.
The wind farm’s 55 wind turbines can generate up to 90.75 megawatts of electricity.
About Te Āpiti
The 55 wind turbines generate enough electricity each year for about 46,000 average New Zealand homes.
Te Āpiti was the first wind farm Meridian built in New Zealand. It is also the first wind farm to supply electricity into the national energy grid, which is owned by Transpower.
Did you know?
Te Āpiti wind farm can be seen from the Manawatu Gorge walking track. This remarkable gorge is one of the few in the world where a river crosses a mountain range.
Why build a wind farm here?
Te Āpiti wind farm is located on 1150 hectares of farmland owned by four separate landowners, including Meridian.
The wind near the Manawatu Gorge is exceptional, even by international standards.
The strong, unimpeded winds from the Tasman Sea and the funnel effect of the Manawatu Gorge make this the perfect place for a wind farm.
Building Te Āpiti
Meridian built 21 kilometres of roads to transport the turbine parts to the wind farm, and excavated 55 foundations for the turbines.
A 400 tonne crawler crane was used to install the turbines.
Key dates
- 2003Nov.Construction begins
- 2004Dec.Te Āpiti fully operational
