By Graeme Mills, 30 September 2022
A potential wind electricity-generating project exists on the hills above Paekākāriki. The objective of the project is to provide renewable energy to the village of Paekākāriki, with surplus energy distributed via the local line network to other parts of Kāpiti.
It is hoped that the community would have an opportunity to invest in the Project and contribute to NZ’s sustainability targets in a meaningful way. However, it is unlikely (but not impossible) that the community would be able to fully fund the Project, and it would need a ‘cornerstone investor’ to make it happen, and to operate it on the electricity market. The total capital cost would be between $15 M and $20 M.
The project involves up to 5 wind turbines, with a combined output of 4.5 MW. We started taking wind speed measurements in 2014. The results of this and feasibility studies also undertaken confirmed that the project is a realistic opportunity and a competitive contender in the NZ electricity market.
[Read more…] about The Paekākāriki Wind Generation Project