Solar power generation has been hitting records this summer. Photo / Supplied
Solar power generation has been hitting records this summer. Photo / Supplied
The amount of energy coming from New Zealand solar farms has been hitting new records this summer – at times generating more power than thermal plants, the Electricity Authority (EA) says.
The authority said solar generation hit a peak of 128 megawatts (MW) at 2pm on March 6.
From February16 to 22, there was 60MW of mean daytime solar generation and total weekly generation of 11.8GWh – enough energy to power 1620 households for a year, the authority said.
Another milestone was achieved in the week of December 22–28 when electricity demand was low and, for the first time, solar generation contributed more to the system than thermal generation.
Although solar power is intermittent (it only makes power when the sun is shining), it helps save water in New Zealand’s dams and fuel in the system’s gas- and coal-powered thermal plants for when there is less sun or wind, the EA said.
“Plus, when there is plenty of solar and wind generation, wholesale electricity prices drop and this can eventually lead to lower prices for electricity customers,” the EA said.
Total capacity from large-scale solar generation is 140MW – or about 1.3% of total installed generation.
This rises to 548MW, or 5% of total generation, if rooftop solar is included.
The authority said the rising trend in solar and battery installation had not been affected by the collapse of Kiwi-founded solar and battery firm SolarZero.
“Solar installations – with and without batteries – have continued to rise on a similar trajectory since SolarZero’s collapse in November,“ the EA said in response to a question from the Herald.
As it stands, five large-scale solar farms are already online.
The country’s first large-scale solar farm connected to the grid was Kohirā in Kaitaiā, in November 2023. Since then, four other large-scale solar farms have come online.
The 24MW Rangitaiki solar farm in the Bay of Plenty first began generating electricity in March 2024.
Elsewhere in the North Island, two new grid-connected farms are currently generating and will soon be fully commissioned (Te Puna Mauri ō Omaru in Northland and Te Herenga o Te Rā in the Bay of Plenty).
Lauriston Solar Farm (47MW) is currently the largest and only grid-connected solar farm in the South Island.
“These farms will significantly increase New Zealand’s solar capacity,” the EA said.
Te Herenga o Te Rā in Bay of Plenty is expected to generate 69GWh annually when fully commissioned, enough to power more than 9600 homes.
The EA said New Zealand had the potential for more solar generation.
“There is a high amount of sunshine energy per year, and the sun may help when the wind isn’t blowing, and the rain isn’t falling.”
The EA said investors were confident in the potential of solar generation, with the 2023 generation investment survey showing 45% of committed future generation is solar (652MW of capacity).
An artist’s impression of Lodestone’s Kaitāia solar farm. Photo / Supplied
New solar farms include:
Meridian Energy and Nova Energy partnering to build and operate the 400MW Te Rahui farm
Contact Energy and Lightsource investing in the 168MWp (megawatt peak) Kōwhai Park farm, expected to be operational in 2026
Genesis Energy and FRV Australia partnering to build the 40MW farm in Foxton, expected to begin construction in 2026
Lodestone Energy’s 32MWp farm in Whitianga, currently under construction, and further solar farms in the planning stage.
The EA said household solar generation is also increasing.
The authority noted that many Kiwis have also invested in solar panels for their homes and businesses.
This smaller local generation is called distributed energy, as it typically remains within the local distribution network.
This investment has been steadily on the rise for several years.
As of December 2024, the capacity of residential, commercial and small business solar generation was estimated at 408MW.
The industrial sector also has about 200MW of solar generation capacity.
The EA said solar power is increasingly important to New Zealand as it provides a low-cost, clean and renewable energy source.
“However, intermittent generation like solar and wind must be accurately forecast to allow the electricity system to coordinate itself efficiently.”
The EA said it had developed a hybrid forecasting arrangement to encourage better forecasts to support solar and wind generation.
Solar power generation overtook thermal power for the first time last year. Photo / NZME
This initiative would support the development of a market for intermittent generation forecasting and will foster innovation by creating competitive tension between the centralised forecaster and other forecasting providers.
Procurement for the central forecaster is currently ongoing.
The Energy Competition Task Force – established last year – is considering ways to fairly reward people with solar and batteries who export their household electricity (either solar generation or power in an EV battery) during peak times.
Jamie Gray is an Auckland-based journalist, covering the financial markets, the primary sector and energy. He joined the Herald in 2011.
