TrustPower Gains Approval for 200 MW Mahinerangi Wind Farm

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http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601081&sid=ahyEcCrTY65M&refer=australia

TrustPower Gains Approval for 200 MW Mahinerangi Wind Farm

By Jonathan Underhill

Oct. 1 (Bloomberg) -- TrustPower Ltd., New Zealand's third- biggest publicly traded utility, gained planning approval for a 200 megawatt wind farm near the South Island city of Dunedin.

The Lake Mahinerangi project will cost more than NZ$400 million ($304 million), the Tauranga-based company said in a statement today. It may produce enough electricity to supply 100,000 homes, it said.

A shortage of natural gas discoveries in New Zealand has prompted generators including TrustPower, Meridian Energy Ltd., Mighty River Power Ltd. and Genesis Power Ltd. to consider building as much as 1,300 megawatts of wind power in the next four years to help meet rising demand.

TrustPower already runs four hydro-electric power stations below Lake Mahinerangi with a combined capacity of 84 megawatts.

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