Anza Power signs second Fonterra PPA for 110MWac Karioi solar PV power plant in New Zealand

Fonterra is a New Zealand dairy co-operative that has been signing long-term agreements for new renewable generation to secure electricity supply and price certainty.

Karioi is located near Tangiwai in the Ruapehu District of the central North Island, where it will connect to the Tangiwai substation of Transpower, New Zealand’s state-owned national grid operator, and is expected to generate about 215,000MWh of electricity a year, according to Anza Power.

The site will remain in agricultural production, with sheep continuing to graze alongside the solar PV modules.

Anza Power did not disclose the term of the agreement, the volume or share of the plant’s output that Fonterra will take, the price, or dates for financial close and construction.

The agreement follows the first PPA between the two companies, a long-term virtual PPA that Fonterra signed in June for 80% of the output of Anza Power’s 42MWdc Somerton solar PV plant near Rakaia in Canterbury, which is expected to reach commercial operation in the first quarter of 2028.

Fonterra also signed a virtual PPA with NZ Clean Energy for its 129MW Darfield solar-plus-storage project in Canterbury.

Anna Palairet, Fonterra’s chief operating officer, said at the time of the Somerton agreement:

“Solar is a good fit for our operations, with generation aligning well to the peak of the milk season.”

Anza Power acquired Karioi and the 95MWac Ongaonga solar PV plant in Hawke’s Bay from Helios Energy in September, adding 205MWac of consented, construction-ready capacity, with neither company disclosing the financial terms.

Helios Energy is an Auckland-based utility-scale solar developer, co-founded in 2022 by Andrew Schlichting and Tim Derrick with backing from Google executive Urs Hölzle, and has developed a solar pipeline of close to 1GW across New Zealand.

Karioi received consent from Ruapehu District Council after more than two years of planning and engagement, according to Anza Power, and it was the company’s first acquisition of new projects in New Zealand since its launch.

Anza Power was launched through the acquisition of Japan-headquartered Bison Energy’s Australian and New Zealand project portfolio, which added roughly 1.4GW of solar and 3.4GWh of BESS capacity across both countries.

The Karioi PPA comes as New Zealand’s utility-scale solar sector moves through a period of rapid growth.

Solar generation rose 56.2% year on year to a record 242GWh in the second quarter of 2026, according to the country’s Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, and solar generated more electricity than coal over a rolling 12-month period for the first time on record.

Installed solar PV capacity is forecast to rise from 715MW in 2025 to 1,800MW by 2030, according to market research platform Mordor Intelligence.

Harmony Energy New Zealand and Igneo Infrastructure Partners energised the 202MWp Tauhei solar plant near Te Aroha in July 2026, making it the country’s largest operational solar installation, with all output from its first ten years of operation contracted to Meridian Energy, a gentailer, meaning a company that both generates and sells electricity.

Nova Energy and Meridian Energy are separately developing the 400MW Te Rahui Solar Farm near Taupō, while Lightsource bp and Contact Energy have reached financial close on the 171MWdc Glorit plant and neared completion on the 168MWdc Kōwhai Park project at Christchurch Airport.