Te Rere Hau

Te Rere Hau Wind

New Zealand’s first-ever wind farm repowering project

Meridian and NZ Windfarms formed a 50-50 joint venture in October 2023 to repower and extend the Te Rere Hau Wind Farm. Subsequently, in July 2025, Meridian completed the acquisition of NZ Windfarms, increasing our renewable generation portfolio and enabling more efficient financing of the repowering project.

About the project

The Te Rere Hau Wind Farm is located near Palmerston North on the Tararua Range, which offers some of the best wind resources in New Zealand. Originally constructed in 2006 with five 500kW turbines, it currently has 91 turbines with a total installed capacity of 45.5MW.

The repowering project involves the design, construction and operation of up to 40 new turbines with a generation capacity of up to 172MW. This will be New Zealand’s first wind farm repowering project and has the potential to generate seven times the annual renewable energy production of the existing turbines.

A final investment decision is expected from the Meridian Board in early 2027, but work is already underway on upgrading access roads to the site.

Consenting

In May 2023, NZ Windfarms obtained a two-year fast-track consent for the first phase of the project, consisting of 30 new larger turbines. The second phase of the project involves an extension (the Aokautere Extension Project), of a further ten turbines on an adjacent piece of land. Consent for the Aokautere Extension was granted in August 2024.

NZ Windfarms also secured conditional access to a new transmission corridor through a combination of a land purchase and an easement, allowing the new wind farm to connect directly to the Transpower Bunnythorpe-to-Wilton transmission line.

In July 2026 Meridian received the key remaining resource consent, which was required to accommodate the relocation of an Airways communication facility to a new site.

Latest project updates

Would you like to receive project newsletter updates via email? Please email us at tererehau@meridianenergy.co.nz 

Any questions?

If you have any questions or concerns regarding the project, please email the details to us at tererehau@meridianenergy.co.nz

Key dates

  • December 2023: Formation of joint venture
  • July 2025: Meridian acquire NZ Windfarms
  • Q3 2026: Decommissioning of existing Te Rere Hau wind turbines
  • Q3 2026: Commencement of construction
  • Mid 2029: Project completion

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