Genesis Energy and Tilt Renewables have executed a conditional 20-year electricity offtake agreement that will provide the foundation for the construction of the 75MW Kaiwaikawe Wind Farm located near Dargaville, Northland. The two companies partnered in a similar way for the 133MW Waipipi windfarm in South Taranaki which was delivered on time despite the impact of COVID-19 on the supply chain and on-site construction activities. It became fully operational in March and is expected to produce approximately 455GWh of renewable generation each year.

The Kaiwaikawe Wind Farm (previously known as the Omamari Wind Farm), is expected to be completed by early 2024 and supports Genesis' Future-gen strategy to economically displace baseload thermal generation with 2,650GWh per annum of new renewable electricity by 2030. The Kaiwaikawe Windfarm will reduce carbon emissions from Genesis' thermal generation by an estimated 180,000 tonnes per annum. It is the first confirmed project of an RFP process that Genesis has been conducting with more announcements due.

It is also well located in a region of Northland that will benefit greatly from the development of additional utility scale generation close to key load centres. It will be powered by up to 19 turbines utilising some of the latest turbine technology to maximise efficiency and production. Resource consents for the project are progressing with a hearing scheduled for August 2021 and a decision is expected later in the year.

It is expected to create between 70 to 80 jobs during construction.