Turitea South wind farm to generate 370 GWh of renewable energy per year, with Amazon purchasing nearly 50% of capacity
Amazon and Mercury NZ have come together for a long-term corporate power purchase agreement for Turitea South, a wind farm under construction in New Zealand. This 103-megawatt (MW) project is expected to generate 370 gigawatt hours (GWh) of new renewable energy per year.
Amazon will purchase nearly 50% of the renewable energy capacity of Turitea South, which is more than what will be required to power the upcoming Amazon Web Services (AWS) Asia Pacific (Auckland) Region data centres at launch.
Turitea South is Amazon’s first renewable energy project in New Zealand and the first corporate power purchase agreement (PPA) between an energy company and technology provider in the country. It is also the largest wind farm in the country, consisting of 33 turbines in Turitea North and 27 turbines in Turitea South, and is commissioned to launch in June 2023.
The agreement with Amazon will help Mercury shift the dial on decarbonisation in New Zealand. By adhering to the concept of kaitiakitanga (guardianship and protection), Mercury worked with local iwi Rangitāne o Manawatū, government agencies and specialist ecologists throughout the pre-construction, construction and post-construction phases.
The AWS Asia Pacific (Auckland) Region is expected to launch in 2024, consisting of three Availability Zones (AZs). This launch will enable more developers, startups, and enterprises as well as government, education, and nonprofit organisations to run their applications and serve end-users from data centres located in New Zealand.
Tiffany Bloomquist, country manager for commercial operations at AWS in New Zealand, said that the project reflects Amazon’s deep and long-term commitment to supporting a sustainable future for New Zealand. Bloomquist also expressed excitement that the PPA was signed with an energy company that uses AWS cloud services, demonstrating how digitalisation and decarbonisation are mutually beneficial.