Power company Mercury is expanding its Kaiwera Downs wind farm near Gore.

It comes after last week's long-term agreement to supply power to the New Zealand Aluminium Smelters (NZAS) at Tiwai Point.

Mercury said it would spend $486 million on the wind farm project, bringing its total investment in new renewables to more than $700m this year.

"We know there are many in the Gore community who are deeply interested in this project, and we're committed to continuing to work with the community as we have with the first stage of Kaiwera Downs," Mercury general manager Phil Gibson said.

Once completed, the 155 megawatt (MW) project will generate enough electricity to power the equivalent of about 73,000 homes a year.

The investment will increase the capacity of the Kaiwera Downs wind farm to 198 MW, making it the second largest in New Zealand, with construction expected to begin this month and full generation available by the end of 2026.

The expansion plan was conditional on the Electricity Authority's approval to the other two NZAS supply contracts with Meridian Energy and Contact Energy.

Reproduced with permission