Largest wind-powered hydrogen project in NZ achieves fin close

Hiringa Energy, along with its partners, announced the financial close on a 5-MW green hydrogen project in New Zealand, powered by a four-turbine wind farm and touted as the largest in the country.

Located in Kapuni, South Taranaki, the initiative is led by Hiringa Energy as the development and operating partner, together with farmer-owned cooperative Ballance Agri-Nutrients, local conglomerate Todd, Taranaki-based Maori incorporation Parininihi ki Waitotara (PKW) and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE).

The Kapuni project, supported by non-recourse project financing from Westpac NZ, will utilise an electrolyser, which will use renewable electricity to split water into oxygen and hydrogen to produce up to two tonnes of green hydrogen per day. Its output can be used for emissions-free transport via Hiringa Energy’s refuelling operations or be used to make lower carbon fertiliser at the Ballance Kapuni plant.

The hydrogen station will be powered by a 25.6-MW wind farm capable of generating 100 GWh of clean electricity per year. In addition to hydrogen production, the on-site power generation can be used to supply the Balance’s Kapuni fertiliser plant and site operations or be exported to the national grid.

The wind farm will be equipped with Vestas turbines, the Nordic manufacturer announced separately. The machines will be of the V162-6.4 MW EnVentus series. Deliveries are set to start in the first quarter of 2026, while commissioning is targeted for the second quarter of 2027.

Cover photo: Hiringa Energy