WELLINGTON, New Zealand--Meridian Energy Ltd. said it will build a 176 megawatt wind farm in New Zealand's Hawke's Bay region that will generate power for the equivalent of 70,000 homes.

The company said construction of the 395 million New Zealand dollars ($290 million) Harapaki wind farm, which will be Meridian's sixth and the country's second largest, will take about three years.

More than 80% of New Zealand's electricity is generated from renewable sources such as hydro dams, geothermal plants that use the earth's internal heat and wind farms. The government wants to move to 100% renewable energy over time to help meet targets for reductions in climate-warming emissions.

Meridian on Wednesday said changes in the value of hedges drove a 19% increase in its first-half net profit to NZ$227 million. Underlying earnings fell 9.0% from a year earlier on lower hydro generation.

Write to Stephen Wright at stephen.wright@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

02-23-21 1513ET