Meridian Energy, a New Zealand state-owned energy company, has been granted consent to develop a 120MW solar PV project in Tai Tokerau Northland.
Named the Ruakākā Solar Farm, the project will feature 250,000 solar PV modules and produce between 150-250GWh of renewable electricity each year.
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Subject to an appeal period and pending the final investment decision by the Meridian Board, which is expected to be made by the end of the year, the construction of the Ruakākā Solar Farm is scheduled to commence in early 2025. The project is anticipated to be finished by late 2026.
Rebecca Knott, head of renewable development at Meridian Energy, stated that the project will enhance the region’s resilience by reducing Northland’s dependence on electricity generated from other parts of the country.
“With the bulk of New Zealand’s electricity generation coming from the lower South Island and North Island south of Auckland, we’re proud to be developing such significant generation capacity in Tai Tokerau. This region is blessed with phenomenal natural resources, and we’re looking forward to delivering a fantastic new project that takes full advantage of that,” Knott said.
The solar PV power plant is the second stage of development for Meridian’s Ruakākā Energy Park, which also includes a 100MW/200MWh battery energy storage system (BESS). The BESS is currently in the advanced stage of construction and is due for completion in early 2025.
As reported by our sister site Energy-Storage.news, Saft is providing the two-hour duration system, which will participate in energy arbitrage and frequency regulation and help free up network hosting capacity in the reserve markets of the country’s North Island.
Lodestone Energy pens ‘landmark’ solar agreement
In other New Zealand solar news, PV Tech reported last week (19 September) that developer Lodestone Energy signed a solar agreement with poultry provider Inghams to match its electricity consumption via solar PV power plants.
Under this ‘landmark’ 20-year agreement, Lodestone Energy will generate certified renewable electricity from its solar PV power plants in the Bay of Plenty and Coromandel, on New Zealand’s northern island, to meet Inghams’ demand long into the future.
The agreement has also been deemed flexible, and thus, Lodestone will adapt to ensure that 100% of Inghams’ electricity is met by solar PV. This protects Inghams from volatility in the electricity market, which prime minister Christopher Luxon recently dubbed an “energy crisis”.
