It’s taken just 70 working days for an application to build a solar farm in Waikato to be given an important thumbs up to proceed (with conditions).
Harmony Energy New Zealand Limited wants to construct and operate a 186MW DC / 147MW AC PV power station consisting of approximately 330,000 solar panels on farmland in Te Aroha West – around 140km south of Auckland – currently used for dairying activities. The project will generate enough electricity to supply the equivalent of 33,000 homes.
The total farmland involved covers 260 hectares. 182 hectares will be occupied by the solar farm, while around 30 hectares will see wetland and riparian restoration activities, and boundary planting. The remaining area will be used for running sheep.
Harmony Energy applied for resource consent under NZ’s COVID-19 Recovery (Fast-track Consenting) Act 2020 (FTCA), which provides for an accelerated consenting process for projects with the potential to boost employment and economic recovery.
The resource consent application was lodged with the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA), but the EPA wasn’t involved in the decision-making per se – that was the task of an independent fast-track consenting panel. However, the EPA provided advice and administrative support to the Panel.
The Panel found the project to be consistent with and will promote the purpose of the FTCA. The Panel said Tauhei Solar Farm will provide very significant benefits in terms of renewable energy generation, will produce local ecological benefits through the retirement of two dairy farms and ecological activities, and engagement with iwi and hapū had been ” genuine and effective”.
Commenting on the positive decision, Harmony Energy’s New Zealand- based Director Pete Grogan1 said:
“One of the great advantages of solar power is that it accommodates dual use of land, allowing for energy generation alongside continued farming production, as will happen at Tauhei. This proposal creates opportunities for local businesses and employment and creates significant biodiversity gains. We will deliver an exceptional project that Waikato can be proud of.”
A fast decision doesn’t necessarily mean a rushed decision – the paperwork associated with this project is eye-popping. The full decision and conditions for Tauhei Solar Farm can be viewed here and other documents associated with the project here.
Large Scale Solar To Power Ahead In NZ
Solar power accounted for less than 0.5 per cent of electricity generation and 0.2 per cent of final energy consumption in NZ in 2021 (Source: Energy In New Zealand 22). While solar has been very much a bit player in New Zealand’s energy mix, the country is starting to get its large-scale PV game on.
In addition to Tauhei, Harmony Energy says it has a pipeline of over 500 megawatt of projects planned for New Zealand. And Harmony isn’t the only firm eyeing the country’s solar power potential. Other big projects that should see decisions soon include Todd Generation subsidiary Nova Energy’s 400 MW solar farm at Rangitāiki.
Footnotes
- Mr Grogan is a Kiwi and co-founded parent company UK-headquartered Harmony Energy, returning to the country to establish the firm’s New Zealand operation. ↩
About Michael Bloch
RSS - Posts
Plenty of potential for solar in NZ. While not as good a location as Australia, it will still end up supplying plenty of New Zealand’s energy — especially as EVs increase electricity demand. (NZeders pay more for petrol than we do.) Aukland is nearly on par with Melbourne as a solar location and Christchurch down on the South Island is still significantly better than Hobart.