Auckland
THE BRIEF
The 198MW Kaiwera Downs Wind Farm is under development. Its two stages comprise 46 turbines; stage one (10 turbines) is operational, while stage two (36 turbines) is under construction and scheduled for completion in 2027.
Riley provided civil and geotechnical engineering services for the Civil Balance of Plant scope, from resource consent through to detailed design and construction verification. The work included the geometric design of nearly 1 million cubic meters of earthworks, and the construction of over 40km of new access roads.
THE OUTCOME
The detailed geotechnical site investigations and data logging enabled the development of a detailed and accurate 3D soil/rock layer model. This provided a high level of certainty to both the contractor and client regarding material quantities and facilitated the optimisation of the earthworks design.
“Riley’s geotechnical input was critical to the successful delivery of the Kaiwera Downs Stage 1 Wind Farm. Their team managed the subsurface investigations and developed an accurate 3D geotechnical model that clearly mapped material depths across the site. This allowed us to predict earthwork quantities with confidence, optimise road and platform designs, and confirm we had sufficient recoverable rock for pavement construction. Riley’s work significantly reduced uncertainty and supported efficient, well‑informed design–build decisions.” Donovin King – Higgins