Latest
The project will consist of 250,000 solar PV modules. Image: Meridian Energy (LinkedIn).
Meridian Energy, a New Zealand state-owned energy company, has been granted consent to develop a 120MW solar PV project in Tai Tokerau Northland.
Named the Ruakākā Solar Farm, the project will feature 250,000 solar PV modules and produce between 150-250GWh of renewable electricity each year.
This article requires Premium Subscription Basic (FREE) Subscription
Unlock unlimited access for 12 whole months of distinctive global analysis
Photovoltaics International is now included.
Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
Unlimited digital access to the PV Tech Power journal catalogue
Unlimited digital access to the Photovoltaics International journal catalogue
Access to more than 1,000 technical papers
Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual
Or continue reading this article for free
Subject to an appeal period and pending the final investment decision by the Meridian Board, which is expected to be made by the end of the year, the construction of the Ruakākā Solar Farm is scheduled to commence in early 2025. The project is anticipated to be finished by late 2026.
Rebecca Knott, head of renewable development at Meridian Energy, stated that the project will enhance the region’s resilience by reducing Northland’s dependence on electricity generated from other parts of the country.
“With the bulk of New Zealand’s electricity generation coming from the lower South Island and North Island south of Auckland, we’re proud to be developing such significant generation capacity in Tai Tokerau. This region is blessed with phenomenal natural resources, and we’re looking forward to delivering a fantastic new project that takes full advantage of that,” Knott said.
The solar PV power plant is the second stage of development for Meridian’s Ruakākā Energy Park, which also includes a 100MW/200MWh battery energy storage system (BESS). The BESS is currently in the advanced stage of construction and is due for completion in early 2025.
As reported by our sister site Energy-Storage.news, Saft is providing the two-hour duration system, which will participate in energy arbitrage and frequency regulation and help free up network hosting capacity in the reserve markets of the country’s North Island.
Lodestone Energy pens ‘landmark’ solar agreement
In other New Zealand solar news, PV Tech reported last week (19 September) that developer Lodestone Energy signed a solar agreement with poultry provider Inghams to match its electricity consumption via solar PV power plants.
Under this ‘landmark’ 20-year agreement, Lodestone Energy will generate certified renewable electricity from its solar PV power plants in the Bay of Plenty and Coromandel, on New Zealand’s northern island, to meet Inghams’ demand long into the future.
The agreement has also been deemed flexible, and thus, Lodestone will adapt to ensure that 100% of Inghams’ electricity is met by solar PV. This protects Inghams from volatility in the electricity market, which prime minister Christopher Luxon recently dubbed an “energy crisis”.
PV Tech has been running PV ModuleTech Conferences since 2017. PV ModuleTech USA, on 17-18 June 2025, will be our fourth PV ModulelTech conference dedicated to the U.S. utility scale solar sector. The event will gather the key stakeholders from solar developers, solar asset owners and investors, PV manufacturing, policy-making and and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out the PV module supply channels to the U.S. out to 2026 and beyond.
Read Next
Australia’s Energy Corporation of New South Wales (EnergyCo) has granted a transmission operator’s licence to the ACEREZ Partnership for the Central-West Orana Renewable Energy Zone (REZ) transmission project.
Chinese module manufacturer JA Solar has inked a 1GW solar PV module distribution agreement with Australia’s One Stop Warehouse (OSW), covering the European, US and Asia-Pacific markets.
Australia’s Clean Energy Regulator (CER) has revealed that over 7GW of renewable energy capacity could be added in the country by the end of 2024.
Lori Bird and Joe Hack of the World Resources Institute examine legislative and regulatory efforts to break the US transmission bottleneck.
Developer rPlus Energies has broken ground on a solar PV plant in Utah, US, co-located with 1.6GWh of battery storage.
UK-based investment group Foresight Solar Fund has confirmed that it will sell its Australia portfolio, consisting of 170MW of operational solar PV and 122MW of battery energy storage systems (BESS).
Subscribe to Newsletter
Most Read
Upcoming Events
Huntington Place Detroit, MI
San Francisco Bay Area, USA
https://www.pv-tech.org/meridian-energy-lands-consent-for-120mw-solar-pv-project-in-new-zealand/
