Mighty River Power has been granted resource consent for its proposed 159MW Puketoi wind farm. As with other recently-consented projects, it is unlikely to be built until electricity demand picks up - but it is at least now in the pipeline, and can be constructed on two year's notice.
Looking at the list of proposed wind farms, there are now 2.75 GW of consented wind generation waiting to be constructed. That's more than four times the current installed capacity, and if built, it would mean we easily make our 90% renewable energy target. The trick now is making that happen. And the easiest way to do it is to reinstate the thermal ban and focus development purely on renewable sources.
