Waipipi will feature 31 Siemens Gamesa turbines with power ratings of 4.3MW and rotor diameters of 130 metres — the largest ever to be installed in New Zealand, Tilt claimed.
The developer expects to reach financial close on the project in the next month, it added.
Tilt said the bulk of the NZ$276 million (US$174 million) funding for Waipipi will come from "competitive project debt financing".
The remainder will be internally generated equity, including funds set aside for reinvestment, rather than paid out to shareholders as year-end dividends.
Waipipi will be built in the South Taranaki area of New Zealand’s North Island.
Tilt claimed the project would generate 455GWh per year, which will be sold to utility Genesis Energy under a 20-year power purchase agreement.
The developer has renamed the project, from Waverley to Waipipi to "reflect the region’s history and heritage", it stated.
‘Wai’ means stream, while ‘pipi’ is the name for the cockle shellfish found in a nearby estuary, according to .
.png)
.png)
