Spark to take solar power from Genesis’ Lauriston project

FRV Australia is developing a solar farm with Genesis Energy near Lauriston on the Canterbury Plains.

Genesis Energy and Spark New Zealand have signed a 10-year renewable energy partnership that will see the telco take all the power from the Lauriston solar farm, which is soon to start construction.

Under a 10-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), electricity generated by Genesis’ first solar farm at Lauriston, Canterbury will be purchased by Spark - making a significant contribution towards Spark’s emission targets.

FRV Australia CEO Carlo Frigerio (left) and Genesis chief executive Malcolm Johns at the sod-turning of a new solar energy farm at Lauriston in Canterbury on April 23, 2024. Photo / Supplied

The 63-megawatt (MW) Lauriston is due to start generating power by the end of the 2024 calendar year.

The renewable energy provided to Spark from the solar farm will account for about 60 per cent of Spark’s annual electricity requirements, with the remaining 40 per cent continuing to be sourced by Genesis from the grid as occurs today.

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.

Spark chief executive Jolie Hodson said the partnership with Genesis would take the telco forward in delivering on its sustainability ambitions.

“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