Lodestone Energy, a frontrunner in New Zealand’s solar energy sector, has achieved a remarkable milestone with the commencement of power generation at its largest solar farm to date, Te Herenga o Te Rā, located in Waiotahe, Bay of Plenty.
The farm boasts its capability to produce around 69 GWh of clean, renewable electricity each year from more than 71,600 high-efficiency bifacial solar panels, which is sufficient to supply power to nearly 10,000 homes annually.
Te Herenga o Te Rā commenced construction in December 2023 after the initial generation from Lodestone’s first solar farm, Kohirā, in Kaitaia.
“While 27% larger in capacity than our first farm, Kohirā, we have achieved the first generation in a similar timeframe. As we develop more utility-scale solar farms, our team and primary construction partners, Infratec and New Energy, are streamlining our builds to deliver efficiencies on each subsequent project,” Lodestone Energy chief operating officer Richard Pearce said.
Te Herenga o Te Rā is notable for being New Zealand’s first solar farm directly connected to Transpower’s national grid. In contrast, Lodestone’s earlier solar farms are linked to local distribution networks.
Additionally, the fourth solar farm under construction in Whitianga will connect to the Powerco distribution network.
Lodestone Energy managing director Gary Holden said, “Utility-scale solar is the lowest-cost form of energy, and the country will need significant volumes of new solar in order to build a more resilient, secure, lower-cost energy system.“
“As Lodestone continues to lead investment in the country’s renewable electricity generation, it was critically important that policy and market settings encouraged investor capital into the sector and enabled developments to be executed faster.”
Lodestone Energy is set to advance its renewable energy initiatives with significant new projects planned for Dargaville, Manawatu, and Canterbury, all scheduled to begin construction in 2025.
By 2028, Lodestone Energy aims to produce more than 800 GWh of certified renewable energy annually, effectively tripling New Zealand’s solar production compared to 2022 levels.