Work starts on ‘one of NZ’s largest’ solar farms

Community and energy sector representatives including energy minister Simeon Brown attended a groundbreaking (sod turning) ceremony on August 27 to start a $300 million Kowhai Park solar project at Christchurch Airport.

The airport partnered with Contact Energy and international solar developer Lightsource Bp on the solar farm, expected to have about 300,000 solar panels on 230 hectares and generate enough power to the equivalent of supplying some 36,000 homes.

Contact Energy chief executive Mike Fuge says once completed the solar farm will be among the largest in the country.

Lightsource Bp says the official groundbreaking ceremony follows the project securing $267 million financing for the 168MW farm from Westpac New Zealand, Mizuho, China Construction Bank and Intesa Sanpaolo – IMICIB.

Those represented at the ceremony included Chintec, Ventia, Orion, Airways, and Christchurch city councillors.

The project is expected to be completed in 2026 with construction taking about 18 months to two years.

Brown discussed the government’s commitment to supporting such initiatives, reinforcing New Zealand’s path toward a sustainable future, while Christchurch International Airport Limited chief executive Justin Watson says the solar farm will provide a large amount of green energy to help the aviation industry shift away from fossil fuels.

Watson says the airport uses about 8MW at peak and has forecast out to 2040 that if it transitions aircraft to next generation (using renewable fuels) then the airport is going to need about 140MW.

“So we believe if we were to electrify or transition to hydrogen we would have enough from the solar farm to provide that for aviation.”

Watson says the solar panels are designed to observe the sunlight rather than reflect it so they would not cause disruption for planes landing at the airport.

“Drawing from our global experience, we’re committed to delivering low-cost, reliable energy solutions for New Zealand,” says Lightsource Bp APAC managing director Adam Pegg.

“This is a big day for us because it’s a new technology for us getting into solar,” he says.

The park is between Orion’s lines network supplying Christchurch city and Transpower’s national grid pylons.

The coalition government recently announced a multi-pronged plan to deal with what it was calling an energy security crisis, including a review of the electricity market.

“We need to double the amount of renewable energy that New Zealand needs over the next 25 years out to 2050,” says Brown.

“Fast-track consents are all going to play a critical role in getting that enabled here.

“I guess our message to the energy sector is we need far more of this investment, and we want to see more of it right across our country.”

The government also announced plans to pass legislation by the end of the year to reverse the oil and gas exploration ban and remove regulatory barriers to the construction of facilities to import liquefied natural gas (LNG).