As part of the partnership, Spark and Genesis also intend to explore additional renewable energy opportunities to enable Spark to transition to 100 per cent renewable energy procurement in the future, and to support Genesis’ target to have 95 per cent renewable generation by 2035.
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“Electricity accounts for 80 per cent of Spark’s scope one and two emissions, and with our investment in data centres and 5G infrastructure accelerating, we expect our electricity use to increase, offsetting savings from our network simplification and energy efficiency initiatives,” she said.
“As a result, we have been exploring how we can decouple our growth from emissions growth, and in Genesis we found a partner [which] was ready and willing to help us achieve this,” Hodson said.
Genesis’ chief executive Malcolm Johns said the PPA supports Genesis’ plan to invest more than $1 billion in new renewable energy to help drive New Zealand towards “net-zero 2050″.
“The kind of long-term commitment shown by Spark will enable new renewable generation to come online faster, by providing projects with commercial backing and increasing confidence to invest in further developments,” Johns said.
“Spark is a great partner for our renewable energy as we move the country towards a collective target of 60 per cent electrification, with at least 95 per cent renewable electricity, available 100 per cent of the time.”
The starting date for the agreement is January 1, 2025.
Genesis Energy and joint venture partner, FRV Australia, are building the farm at Lauriston, on the Canterbury Plains, one hour’s drive from Christchurch.
The 93ha farm is expected to create more than 50 jobs during the construction phase, and will employ up to three fulltime staff when operational.
The expected construction costs are about $104 million.
Jamie Gray is an Auckland-based journalist, covering the financial markets and the primary sector. He joined the Herald in 2011
