Auckland engineering firm Riley Consultants has won a national innovation award for the digital design platform it used on the 46-turbine Kaiwera Downs Wind Farm, 15km or so southeast of Gore.
The firm received the Ace of Innovation Award from ACE New Zealand, the Association of Consulting and Engineering, at a ceremony in Auckland last week.
Its platform optimises the design of wind farms. ACE New Zealand said it helps projects cut time and cost while lessening their effect on the environment.
The judges singled out the firm for building one system that links separate design and assessment tools, ACE New Zealand chief executive Helen Davidson said.
That had greatly reduced the time needed to test options and helped engineers make quicker, better-informed decisions, she said.
"It's fantastic to see technology being used like this in Southland," Ms Davidson said.
"The region can be proud to be home to a great example of smart engineering consulting that's making a real difference to projects and communities."
The wind farm's first stage, with 10 turbines, opened in November 2023. The second stage, with 36 turbines, was completed in September 2026.
Owner Mercury said at the official opening that the whole project cost just over $600 million. The $486 million second stage got the go-ahead in 2024, once Mercury had agreed to back the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter.
Stage two lifted the farm's annual output from 146GWh to 675GWh. Mercury said that would supply about 96,000 homes, assuming each uses 7000kWh a year. Reports of the award this week put the figure at about 93,000 homes.
Mercury estimated the second stage added $100 million to the local and regional economy, and said it was finished on time and on budget.
"New Zealand needs an energy system that is affordable, reliable and resilient. The best way to achieve that is to keep building renewable generation at scale," Mercury chief executive Stew Hamilton said at the opening.
Kaiwera Downs is not expected to hold the title of the South Island's largest wind farm for long. Contact Energy has been cleared to build Slopedown, a 55-turbine wind farm in eastern Southland.
What happens next
Mercury is also preparing a $506 million second stage at its Mahinerangi Wind Farm in Otago, known as Puke Kapo Hau, with 40 new turbines, after the project was fast-tracked this year.
Mercury has said the decision was underpinned by an option for Datagrid to buy power from the farm. Datagrid is developing a large-scale data centre in Southland.
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