Agrivoltaic Project Is All Set To Become New Zealand’s First Utility-Scale Solar Farm

FRV Australia and Genesis Energy, a division of the New Zealand government, have announced plans for a 52 MW solar farm on the South Island, close to Lauriston. The undertaking will be the first substantial solar farm in the country.

According to the companies, the 90-hectare Lauriston solar farm, which was acquired from UK developer Hive Energy, already has advanced grid-connection approvals and is scheduled to start installing panels in 2023. The project will have about 80,000 solar panels, and it will generate around 80 GWh annually. The site will once again be used for farmland sheep grazing after the project is finished in 2024.

The majority of the nation's renewable energy comes from geothermal, wind, and hydroelectric power plants, so solar is still in its infancy there. Approximately 80% of the nation's electricity and 40% of all primary energy consumption are sourced from these sources.

There have been a few recent announcements for projects in the works, including plans for a 400 MW solar farm from Todd Generation and a 147 MW solar farm from UK-based Harmony Energy, both on the country's North Island. Although utility-scale solar farms have not yet been built in New Zealand. Similar to Lightsource bp, Aquila Capital, a German investment company, is seeking to increase its holdings in New Zealand.

"There have been a lot of solar announcements," says Tracey Hickman, Genesis' interim CEO. "However, not many have the necessary land, permits, and grid connections."

Genesis Energy has teamed up with FRV Australia, the antarctic division of Fotowatio Renewable Ventures, a company with experience in creating utility-scale solar projects and owned by Abdul Latif Jameel Energy in Saudi Arabia. The FRV Australia arm is now jointly owned by Canadian company Omers Infrastructure and Abdul Latif Jameel Energy.

The joint venture will have a 60% stake held by Genesis Energy and a 40% stake by FRV Australia. After delivering an estimated 800 MW of solar projects, including roughly 250 MW under construction, FRV Australia declared at the time that it was prepared to expand its regional activities to the New Zealand market.

Over the next five years, the two intend to jointly deliver 500 MW of solar capacity to New Zealand.

Carlo Frigerio, managing director for FRV Australia, said, "FRV Australia and Genesis have developed a very promising pipeline of solar projects expected to be delivered in the coming years." The Laurenston solar farm will likely be the first large-scale solar farm in the nation to reach the operational stage, complementing our pipeline.

In a broader sense, Genesis Energy's programme, of which the Lauriston solar farm is a component, aims to replace 2,650 GWh of thermal generation with new renewable energy by 2030.

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