A joint venture formed by BlueFloat Energy, Energy Estate, and Elemental Group has unveiled plans to develop and build a 900 MW offshore wind project located 22 km off the Taranaki region coast, on New Zealand’s North Island. The South Taranaki offshore wind project will use bottom-fixed technology and cover an area of about 230 km2. BlueFloat Energy and its partners expect to be able to launch construction activities before 2030.
The proposed South Taranaki project is the first of four offshore wind projects planned by the joint venture in New Zealand, which are expected to total 5 GW of wind capacity. In 2021, wind power represented 8% of New Zealand’s installed capacity with 822 MW. The country targets 90% of renewables in the power mix in 2025 and plans to become carbon neutral by 2050.