Meridian defers North Island wind farm on smelter closure impact

Meridian defers North Island wind farm on smelter closure impact
Gavin Evans
Meridian Energy has deferred construction of its proposed Harapaki wind farm north of Napier citing reduced demand from the expected closure of the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter. The company had been close to approving the 160-megawatt development last month when smelter owner Rio Tinto announced the end of the firm’s supply contract with Meridian from August next year. Meridian chief executive Neal Barclay said the company is unaware of whether any of its recent proposals to keep the smelter operating for another one to four years is acc...

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