Christchurch Airport solar project: Contact Energy pushes ‘go’

Contact Energy has given the green light to its Christchurch Airport solar project. Photo / 123 rf

Contact Energy says it will go ahead with its Kōwhai Park Solar Farm at Christchurch Airport with its joint venture partner, Lightsource bp.

Construction will start late this year.

With about 300,000 panels spanning 230 hectares, Kōwhai Park will be one of New Zealand’s largest solar farms.

The 168MWp (megawatt peak) farm will be built on Christchurch Airport’s campus and is expected to generate around 275 gigawatt hours (GWh) a year – equivalent to the annual electricity demand of 36,000 homes.

In solar energy, MWp is a unit of power that indicates how much electricity can be generated in one hour at maximum capacity.

In a statement, Contact said it would buy 80% of the electricity generated under a power purchase agreement for a 15-year term.

The 50/50 joint venture with Lightsource bp will build, own and operate Kōwhai Park, which is expected to be operational in the second quarter of 2026.

“With the Glenbrook-Ohurua battery and now Kōwhai Park under way, Contact is demonstrating our commitment to invest in new technologies and contribute more renewable generation as New Zealand decarbonises,” Contact chief executive Mike Fuge said.

Christchurch Airport chief executive Justin Watson said the project highlighted the company’s commitment to decarbonisation.

China’s Chintec will undertake the engineering, procurement and construction of the solar farm, with a network connection to be delivered by Ventia.

In a separate announcement, Lodestone Energy said it had acquired two prime grid-scale solar sites in the Manawatū region from Kiwi Solar.

The Manawatū sites will generate about 27MWp each, producing an additional 84GWh of renewable electricity each year, capable of powering up to 11,700 homes.

The sites will be developed in conjunction with a third Manawatū site that is already consented and in detailed planning.

Construction on the first of these sites is due to start in mid-2025.

Lodestone has two operational solar farms, near Kaitaia and Edgecumbe, and two more, near Waiotahe in Ōpōtiki District and Whitianga, are under construction.

It has another 10 solar projects in various stages of development across New Zealand, amounting to 564MWp.

On Thursday, Genesis Energy said it had secured an advanced stage, 127MWp consented site near Edgecumbe, in the Bay of Plenty.

The site is expected to start generating electricity in 2026.

The agreement with New Zealand-based developer Helios Energy is expected to go unconditional in the second quarter of 2025.

The site will be wholly owned by Genesis, which will take all the energy produced.

The 207-hectare site will hold about 220,000 solar panels and generate about 230GWh of renewable electricity annually, enough to power about 30,000 houses.

The project is expected to require a construction workforce of about 100 people and will employ up to five staff when operational.

Genesis said the final investment decision for the project was expected in mid-2025.

Jamie Gray is an Auckland-based journalist, covering the financial markets and the primary sector. He joined the Herald in 2011.