Consent for 180ha Rangitīkei solar farm suspended for a second time

The project would involve erecting around 230,000 panels at a site on Wellington Road, around 5km south of Marton.

Consent for a 180ha solar farm in the Rangitīkei district has been suspended for a second time.

In January, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ruled Energy Farms Ltd’s (EFL) application met the requirements for fast-tracking consent, with the project to be examined by an expert consulting panel.

That process was suspended on June 13 following “significantly overdue” payment of costs, but the company paid the outstanding amount five days later.

The application was suspended for the same reason on August 23 and remains on hold.

In a statement, Energy Farms’ Steve Hawkins said the company planned to continue with the application and was “working the process with the relevant stakeholders”.

“Once we have finished this process, Todd from Energy Farms will be happy to engage with you and the wider community.”

If the project goes ahead, around 230,000 panels will be erected at 1646 Wellington Road - around 5km south of Marton - along with 16 inverter stations, a substation and a battery energy storage system (BESS) within the substation area.

On July 9, the EPA granted EFL consent to build a 188ha solar farm north of Ōpunake in South Taranaki.

A 38ha solar farm is set to be built by Far North Solar Farm on a sheep farm near Marton later this year.

The Wellington Rd site is currently part of a dairy farm.

EFL’s application said the project would use multi-use land management practices, with livestock farming and grazing occurring in conjunction with solar activity.

“This concept, known as agrisolar, is now commonplace,” it said.

“Where utilised, it has proven to be successful for both the proponents and the graziers, providing benefits such as lowering operating costs and improving livestock wellbeing.”

Before the application was suspended for the first time, the EPA invited parties to comment on the EFL project.

Harmony Energy #3 Ltd, set to build a 93ha solar farm nearby, questioned whether EFL had the Wellington Rd site under contract and said EFL may have misunderstood the nature and extent of the infrastructure required to connect the project to the grid.

A couple from a neighbouring property said it would oppose the project because anything obstructing “the lovely farm view out towards the mountain” meant a future resale would be affected.

“In saying that, we are not opposed to progress in our region,” the couple said.

“If you [EFL] can provide a guarantee that our view would not be obstructed, then we may reconsider our decision.”

Mike Tweed is a multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present, his focus is local government, primarily Whanganui District Council.