Taking the top spot for Aotearoa New Zealand’s largest solar farm as of yesterday, a joint venture made up of the Australian development arm of Fotowatio Renewable Ventures (FRV) and Kiwi-owned energy company Genesis Energy announced the commissioning of their 63MWp Lauriston Solar Farm.
Located across a 93-hectare site on New Zealand’s South Island in Canterbury near Christchurch, the country’s second most populous city, the newly commissioned Lauriston Solar Farm comprises nearly 90,000 solar panels capable of generating up to 100GWh annually.
As well as having a hand in development, Genesis Energy is also the offtaker of the project under the terms of a 10 year power purchase agreement (PPA).
“To achieve our climate goals, we must transform our energy mix towards renewable sources. Lauriston Solar Farm represents a significant step in this direction, showcasing the power of strategic partnerships in the energy transition,” said CEO of Genesis Energy, Malcolm Johns.
Construction of the project commenced last April and was carried out by Melbourne-based EPC company Beon Energy Solutions.
Bigger projects to come
Although this represents a huge milestone in New Zealand’s quest to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050, the Lauriston Solar Farm will soon be dwarfed by much larger installations elsewhere in the country.
The same FRV and Genesis JV, known as SolarGen, has proposed to construct a much larger solar farm on New Zealand’s North Island in the Manawatū-Whanganui Region, dubbed the Foxton Solar Farm.
SolarGen submitted an application to construct the 180MWp project at the end of last year with New Zealand’s Ministry for the Environment. If granted approval, the JV hopes to commence construction on the project next year.
The Foxton project, along with Lauriston, forms part of a 500MW portfolio of solar projects that the JV has committed to building throughout New Zealand.
Solar projects surpass 200MW in NZ
Before SolarGen has even broken ground on its Foxton project, a JV between British developer Harmony Energy and NZ’s First Renewables may have already commissioned its larger 202MWp Tauhei solar project, currently under construction in Waikato on New Zealand’s North Island.
A soil-turning ceremony was held last month, attended by New Zealand’s minister for energy and climate change, Simon Watts, alongside other guests from the joint venture behind the project.
The project is backed by a 10-year PPA which was signed earlier this year in January with New Zealand power company Meridian Energy.
Expected to be commissioned later next year, 100% of the power generated at the Tauhei solar farm will be purchased by Meridian for the first 10 years of operation.
In addition to the approximately 330,000 solar panels, the site will also play host to the restoration of a wetland and will see the planting of 100,000 native plants – 25,000 of which have already been planted on the boundary of the site to ensure screen planting is established as early as possible.
“We are pleased to have reached this major milestone in a project that heralds a significant step forward in New Zealand’s pursuit of providing cleaner, home-grown energy,” said James Irvine, general manager of First Renewables parent company Clarus.
“At the time of commissioning, it is expected to be New Zealand’s largest solar farm at 202 Megawatt-peak (MWp).”
“It sets a benchmark for large-scale solar projects, reinforcing the growing role of solar in New Zealand’s renewable energy landscape.”
Utility-scale solar at Christchurch airport
Also in the running for the country’s largest solar farm is international developer Lightsource BP, which commenced construction of a 168MWp solar farm located at Christchurch Airport late last year.
Lightsource BP, alongside JV development partner Contact Energy, has secured financing for the project from a consortium of banks including Westpac New Zealand, Mizuho, China Construction Bank, and Intesa Sanpaolo – IMICIB.
Although smaller than Harmony Energy’s Tauhei solar project, Lightsource is also targeting commencement of commercial operations during 2026, so may momentarily hold the top spot if they’re able to complete construction before the British developer.
Meridian’s own solar farm
Meridian recently announced that it was moving ahead with its own solar farm, pairing 130MW of solar generation with a 100MW BESS near Whangārei on the North Island, known as the Ruakākā Solar project.
The company has already commenced construction of the BESS and aims to commence construction of the solar portion during August this year, aiming for an early 2027 completion date.
Meridian recently issued construction and operations & maintenance contracts associated with development of the solar project to UK-based developer Ethical Power, for an estimated NZ$227 million.
