Sheep will be able to graze between and underneath the solar panels. Photo / Unsplash
Resource consent has been granted for a 93ha solar farm near Marton in the Rangitīkei District.
The company behind it is UK-based Harmony Energy (HEL), which also has operations in France, Poland, Germany and in other parts of New Zealand.
Harmony applied for resource consent under the Covid-19 Recovery (Fast-track Consenting) Act 2020 for the project which includes the installation of 28 power stations, two substations, a transformer and underground electricity cables.
Rangitīkei Mayor Andy Watson said solar farm proposals could go through fast-tracking or the council’s consent processes.
Watson said he did not have much to do with the Harmony Energy project and would prefer all projects to follow the same consenting process.
However, solar and wind farms needed “to be the new norm”.
“We have had a sawmill [Tangiwai] close right on our boundary, putting 100 people from our district out of work and a couple of hundred people from Raetihi,” Watson said.
“The driving economic factor behind the closure is a lack of power in New Zealand.”
A Rangitikei District Council spokeswoman said the council was currently processing one application for a solar farm, which was on hold while awaiting further information from the applicant.
She said the council had granted one application for a solar farm near Marton in February this year.
That applicant, Farm North Solar Farm, will build a 38ha solar farm later this year, in the same area as Harmony Energy’s project.
The consenting panel for Harmony’s application said the farm would generate sufficient electricity to supply about 15,000 homes and would provide “significant benefits in terms of renewable energy generation”.
Engagement with iwi and hapū had been genuine and effective, it said.
“Iwi and hapū support the project and are receptive to maintain an ongoing relationship with HEL throughout the implementation of the project.”
Potential adverse effects, such as glint and glare, would be addressed by planting within three to five years, the panel said.
“In the meantime, HEL proposes that the deerlike - 2.1m high - security fencing will be covered with opaque screening material until 70% of plants reach a height of two metres.”
Harmony Energy has two years to implement the consent, with construction also estimated to take two years.
In spring, the company will begin building the Tauhei Solar Farm - about 330,000 solar panels on 182ha at Te Aroha West in Waikato.
Director Pete Grogan said the Marton farm, which would contain about 103,000 solar panels, and another recently-consented solar farm at Ōpunake would create about 400 fulltime jobs during construction periods.
“Solar farms not only support our environmental and energy security goals, but they’ll also help local businesses flourish through job creation and economic growth,” he said.
“Like Tauhei, these projects allow for continued farming and incorporate extensive native planting to enhance biodiversity and ecology.
“The designs are a collaborative effort and the team have done a fantastic job working with mana whenua and local partners.”
According to the panel, the Marton site covered about 120ha and was owned by two parties, with the land currently used for grazing of dry stock and seasonal cropping of maize.
The solar panels would be in rows between 3 and 4.5m apart, “allowing sheep to graze between and underneath them”.
Harmony had a registered option over the land and was free to exercise it once consents were in place, the report said.
“The option is in respect of an easement agreement over the land which contains all the land rights needed to construct and operate the solar farm for 35 years.”
An easement is agreed between a landowner and another party to use land for a particular purpose.
Federated Farmers Manawatū-Rangitīkei Meat and Wool chairwoman Laura Morrison said the organisation wanted to ensure food production in New Zealand was future-proofed.
She said it was encouraging that livestock could still graze at the Marton site.
“Within Rangitīkei, this type of investment [solar] is on the up.
“Traditional methods of farming do need to be diversified but there does need to be a healthy medium - where there is plenty of land for food production still in place.”
Morrison said there were areas of land not being used for production that could be prioritised for solar farms, such as alongside motorways.
“A lot of that land isn’t privately owned so maybe it’s a way for the Government to make some money.
“I do think there is a bigger discussion to be had around what maximising solar farming in New Zealand looks like.”
Te Rūnanga o Ngā Wairiki Ngāti Apa has been approached for comment.
Mike Tweed is a multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present his focus is local government, primarily the Whanganui District Council.