Three North Island solar sites secured by Genesis

Genesis Energy and joint venture partner FRV Australia have confirmed three new North Island sites for solar farms with 400 MW of renewable electricity capacity.

The sites are in the Manawatu, Waikato and Hawke’s Bay with an expected capacity of 200MW, 100MW and 100 MW respectively covering 740ha and costing about $600 million to develop, with the first of these sites expected to be generating electricity by 2026.

All the sites will generate enough electricity to power about 85,000 homes annually – around the size of Wellington.

That would make Genesis the largest solar generator in the country, the three solar farms removing about 500,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions from fossil fuel generation annually, the company says.

The latest announcement follows Genesis securing an advanced stage site in Canterbury for a 52MW solar farm in February. The combined generation of the four sites – 452MW – puts the company on track to achieve the target it set in 2021 of securing up to 500MW of solar within five years.

Solar provides further diversification of Genesis and the country’s generation portfolios which is important for New Zealand’s successful transition to a new energy future, says Genesis Energy chief operations officer Rebecca Larking.

“Solar provides a strong alternative source of renewable generation to the country’s heavy reliance on hydro and growth in wind generation with the added benefit that the time to build and start delivering electricity is a lot quicker than any other type of generation,” she explakins.

“This will help jumpstart electrifying and decarbonising New Zealand businesses and households at scale ensuring the country is on track to be net zero by 2050.”

FRV Australia, which has more than 1GW of photovoltaic (PV) assets developed, built or under construction covering 10 projects across different states with a total project investment exceeding $A2 billion, will help with installation, commissioning and operations of the New Zealand sites.

“These future projects, together with the good progress on the Lauriston solar farm, are the tangible results of our support to sustainable clean energy developments in New Zealand following our successful experience in Australia,” says FRV Australia chief executive Carlo Frigerio.

Genesis’s commercial development general manager Craig Brown leads the company’s solar development programme and recently spent time in Europe looking at the latest technology, developments and trends.

He notes two key trends that will impact on New Zealand’s electrification ambitions – global demand for renewables across Europe, US and Asia in particular; and the heavy reliance on a select few countries for key materials and components.

These trends can impact on the ability for New Zealand projects to secure competitive equipment pricing and adequate lead times for delivery given the country’s requirements are comparatively small in scale and our distance from the rest of the world, Brown explains.

This highlights the importance of international relationships and access to global supply chains and purchasing power, with Genesis well positioned to reduce these impacts through its partnership with FRV Australia.

The Lauriston site remains on track with a final investment decision expected before the end of the year.  Construction starts shortly after with the first generation of electricity expected in late 2024.