Hokonui Hills · Murihiku Southland
Hokonui Energy is building the renewable generation New Zealand needs to drive its energy transition. We exist because affordable electricity should not be a privilege — it's what New Zealand needs to grow.
2022, by infrastructure operators
who believe things can be done better
500 MW Hokonui Wind Farm
Further generation in scoping
Renewable generation
for the NZ wholesale market
Independently founded,
funded and led
New Zealand's future growth hinges on energy affordability — and right now we are failing. Manufacturers are looking elsewhere. We are watching the deindustrialisation of this country happen in real time.
And the irony? New Zealand is sitting on some of the best renewable resources on the planet — and somehow still paying through the nose for electricity.
We are going after that problem with everything we have. That starts by ripping the inefficiencies out of infrastructure delivery that have been quietly accepted as "just how it is" for far too long — and building at a cost that drags new industry into this country by making the numbers actually work.
Onshore wind is now the lowest-cost source of new electricity in New Zealand. We pick sites with the best resource, design lean, and fight for every dollar of capex — because every dollar saved in delivery flows through to the wholesale price.
The Fast-track Approvals Act was designed to unblock projects exactly like ours. We're using it. We use modern, larger turbines that mean fewer foundations, less roading, less disruption — and we set realistic programmes and meet them.
Our flagship project is built in partnership with Hokonui Rūnanga. Real engagement saves time and creates better projects — pretending otherwise is one of the inefficiencies we're done with.
New Zealand needs to build new generation equivalent to roughly one Clyde Dam every year through to 2050 to meet rising electricity demand as transport and industry electrify and as legacy gas-fired generation declines.
MBIE forecasts that onshore wind will be the largest single contributor to new generation added over the next 30 years. Wind currently provides about 6% of NZ's electricity; that share is expected to nearly quadruple to over 20% within a decade.
Southland imports more electricity than it generates locally — a gap expected to widen as dairy processors electrify and large new users come online. Building at scale here, with Southland's wind resource, is one of the most cost-effective things New Zealand can do.
The Hokonui Wind Farm is our flagship project: up to 83 turbines on elevated ridgelines in the Hokonui Hills, 20 km west of Gore — predominantly working farmland and plantation forestry. Around 1,905 GWh per year, ~238,000 New Zealand homes' worth of electricity.
Built in partnership with Hokonui Rūnanga. Connecting to the existing 220 kV Invercargill–Roxburgh transmission line that already runs through the site. Progressed under the Fast-track Approvals Act 2024.
A dedicated project website carries the full information set — design detail, environmental assessments, stakeholder FAQ, timeline and consultation materials.
We talk to landowners, hapū, councils, retailers, industrial users and partners every week. If you've got a site, a project, or want to talk about the energy transition more broadly — get in touch.
Aotearoa New Zealand