Far North to get third solar farm as renewable energy reputation grows

The site in Pamapuria, 10km east of Kaitāia, where Rānui Generation will build the Far North’s third solar farm, capable of powering 6000 households

The Far North’s reputation as a renewable energy hot spot is being further enhanced with a third large scale solar farm getting under way in the district.

The Far North already has one solar farm built - the country’s largest so far, the Lodestone farm near Kaitāia was opened earlier this year - and Far North Solar has started constructing another farm at Pukenui.

Now, Kiwi solar developer Rānui Generation has started a 31 Megawatt peak (MWp) solar farm on a 33ha site at Pamapuria, 10km east of Kaitāia.

Rānui Generation CEO Jason Foden said on-site works have started on the property - off State Highway One - for the what will be the company’s first of four solar farms in its development pipeline.

He said the Twin Rivers Solar Farm in Pamapuria, is a 31MWp project capable of delivering enough electricity to power 6000 households or 25,000 electric vehicles for a year.

Contracts for the Twin Rivers project have been awarded to GE Vernova and INTEC Energy Solutions. The project has a long-term easement agreement with the landowner and construction will start this month.

Foden said Rānui Generation was acquired by Singapore-based renewable energy investor SC Oscar, in June.

SC Oscar has completed the acquisition through its SC Renewable Energy Plus Fund 1 Limited Partnership (Fund) , with consent granted by the New Zealand Overseas Investment Office in October 2023. SC Oscar intends to fund the construction of the four development-stage solar PV power projects which will deliver a combined capacity of 157 MWp.

He said there will be employment opportunities for Far North residents with many of the contractors from the district.

SC Oscar has attracted $220 million in offshore investment for Rānui to develop a portfolio of renewable energy projects.

Sheep graze under the panels at Lodestone's Kohira solar farm, near Kaitāia, that opened earlier this year

Foden said the Twin Rivers solar project - with a total cost of around $40m - is the first of several solar projects that SC Oscar plans to fund. With support from the fund, Rānui Generation will accelerate the development of its three other solar projects with construction scheduled to start in 2025.

“The start of construction of the Twin Rivers solar project represents a significant milestone in expanding renewable energy infrastructure in Northland. In partnership with the local community we are excited to deliver much-needed power generation to a region of New Zealand that has traditionally faced the highest electricity tariffs.”

He said with two other solar farms in the Far North, the district was seen as ideal for such infrastructure, with the sunshine hours making it ideal for solar farms.

“There’s plenty of sun in the north.”

There’s also plenty of capacity in the system to load the solar power into through Top Energy’s network, which Rānui is working with. Top Energy has expansion plans to meet some of the spare capacity.

“This [solar farm] will take up most of the rest of that capacity, unless there’s major expansion of the network.”

Foden said the company had been working on the Pamapuria plan for three years and it was exciting to get to the stage of work starting.

He said the solar panels to be used on the site - which was for beef finishing - would be well off the ground, allowing sheep to be grazed underneath, and the company had given neighbouring Te Paatu Marae the option to graze the land.

“Cows can’t be raised there as they would rub against the [solar panel] posts and potentially damage them, but sheep will be good to raise there.”

Foden said the Far North had some of the most expensive electricity prices in the country and it was hoped the solar farms, combined with Top Energy’s Ngawha expansion, would see power prices fall in the region.

He said all the power from the Twin Rivers farm would be available for use in the Far North.

A recent report by Boston Consulting Group highlighted the need for an investment of $10.2 billion in utility scale renewable generation in New Zealand across this decade. Foden said this landmark deal demonstrates that figure is far from insurmountable, and it’s on future-focused New Zealanders to create the models and opportunities that will attract the necessary investment in years to come.

Work on the Far North Solar farm, capable of powering up to 2000 homes, will start producing electricity early next year, after construction at the Pukenui site started in April.

The solar farm will cover 19ha in Lamb Rd, and produce 20.8 megawatts of power., enough to power the equivalent of 2000 homes. It will have 35,000 solar panels to draw energy from the sun and will create enough renewable electricity to effectively displace about 1635 cars from the country’s roads.

The site is on land previously used for grazing. It was specifically chosen because it is flat and is right next to the Pukenui substation where the power will feed into the Top Energy distribution network.

Northland is set to become a solar farm hotspot with other farms planned for Ruawai, Maungaturoto and Ruakākā.