To meet New Zealand's growing demand for electricity, Meridian is continuing to develop and explore a range of new generation options. We are committed to generating electricity only from renewable sources of energy – wind and water. Here is an introduction to some of the new generation projects we are working on to ensure we are able to continue to supply New Zealanders with electricity, now and in the future.

White Hill

White Hill is our newest wind farm and the first in the South Island. Construction began following the granting of resource consent in February 2005, and White Hill was officially opened on 8 June 2007. The project received widespread local support. No appeals were lodged against the resource consent and an Open Day organised with considerable local involvement prior to the official opening attracted over 5,000 visitors and raised around $61,000 for local projects.

White Hill has a generation capacity of 58 megawatts (MW) - enough electricity to power around 30,000 average households. It will supply power to the distribution networks in Southland.

Project West Wind

Project West Wind is a major wind farm development at Makara, near Wellington. The Environment Court confirmed resource consent for the project to proceed following an appeal and construction started in September 2007 with first power expected in late 2008 or early 2009.

Project Hayes

During the year Meridian lodged a resource consent application for Project Hayes, a proposed wind farm to be built in stages on the Lammermoor Range in Northern Central Otago. The proposal is for up to 176 turbines generating up to 630 MW. The proposal received substantial support in the local area, although it has attracted some vocal opposition. We are currently awaiting the result of the resource consent hearing, which was completed in July 2007. If built, the project could make a significant contribution to meeting New Zealand's increasing electricity demand.

North Bank Tunnel Concept

We are investigating a proposed hydro generation tunnel concept on the North Bank of the Waitaki River in North Otago. The concept would generate electricity by taking water from Lake Waitaki through a tunnel and power station and discharging it back into the Waitaki River, about 34 kilometres downstream. The concept has a potential generation capacity of 200-240 MW - enough to power a city the size of Christchurch, and is potentially one of the largest renewable generation opportunities available in New Zealand. We are taking a staged approach to resource consent, seeking access to water in the first stage before committing to the significant engineering investigation work that would be required in the next phase.