New Zealand’s largest solar farm near Kaitāia has started to generate electricity

Lodestone Energy has started generating electricity from its massive 80-hectare solar farm near Kaitāia. Photo / NZ Herald

The country’s largest solar farm, built on 80 hectares just minutes from central Kaitāia, has started generating electricity - with up to 55 Gigawatt hours (GWh) of power annually expected to be produced at the site.

Lodestone Energy has started generating power at what is New Zealand’s first utility-scale solar farm on farmland on Gills Rd, where about 60,000 solar panels cover about 60ha of land.

The panels at the solar farm are raised two metres above the ground so that sheep can graze and some crops could also be grown under them. They also tilt to follow the sun during the day, to maximise the amount of power captured.

A major renewable energy milestone was reached on Thursday, when Lodestone Energy, New Zealand’s leading utility-scale solar energy company, started generating electricity at its Kaitāia farm - the country’s largest solar installation to date and the first solar farm in New Zealand to bid into the electricity market.

Up until now, the largest solar farm was a 12ha site at Pukenui, about 38km north of Kaitāia.

Since construction on Lodestone’s Kaitāia farm ramped up in early 2023, the project has employed more than 125 installers and technicians, many of them local to the area, and involved more than 22 equipment suppliers and service providers.

Gary Holden, managing director of Lodestone Energy, said Thursday marked an incredible milestone for the company, its respective partners and the nation.

The panels at the Gill Rd solar farm are raised two metres above the ground so that sheep can graze and some crops could also be grown under them. They also tilt to follow the sun during the day. Photo / Mike Dinsdale

“This project ushers in a new era for energy in New Zealand. Kaitāia is the first solar farm at this scale and is a key step in helping New Zealand deliver on its climate goals. It is also crucially important to our customers, who have contracted with us to meet their own sustainable energy objectives,” Holden said.

Lodestone’s phase one capital programme includes solar farms at Dargaville, Edgecumbe, Waiotahe and Whitianga, with Kaitāia the first of the farms to start generating renewable electricity.

Holden said lessons learned in the construction of Kaitāia are now being applied in the planning and building of the future farms, with their second farm, Edgecumbe, expected to be commissioned early in 2024 and the third farm at Waiotahe, which is planned to be generating in late 2024.

Also a first for New Zealand is the agri-voltaic design of the Kaitāia farm which will maximise the production of electricity and maintain productive farming activity.

With more than 61,000 solar panels installed, the farm will generate 55GWh of power annually and is earmarked for residential and commercial energy consumers; with the The Warehouse Group signing up all of their stores to Lodestone’s phase one portfolio - 1GW could power approximately 876,000 households for one year.

“We’re excited to provide New Zealanders with an alternative power option, as we continue to play a key role in helping the country transition to a 100 per cent renewable electricity market,” Holden said.

The deal with the Warehouse Group is for all New Zealand sites where the group buys electricity directly - including sites occupied by The Warehouse, Warehouse Stationery, Noel Leeming and Torpedo7 stores and its distribution centres and store support offices - including its Kaitāia and Waipapa branches.