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The first phase of the Te Rahui solar project will have 200MW of capacity, and receive an investment of NZ$300 million (US$176.6 million). Image: Meridian Energy.
Meridian Energy, a New Zealand state-owned energy company, and Nova Energy, a Wellington-headquartered subsidiary of conglomerate Todd Corporation, have established a joint venture to build and operate a 400MW solar plant in Rangitaiki near Taupo on New Zealand’s North Island.
The first phase of the Te Rahui solar project will have 200MW of capacity, and receive an investment of NZ$300 million (US$176.6 million). Meridian has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) to acquire 100% of the electricity generated at the project, and has secured a contract for difference (CfD) with Nova for half of this output.
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Nova secured resource consent for Te Rahui in April 2024. Phase one is slated to begin commercial operations in mid-2026 and reach full capacity by mid-2027. A final investment decision on the 200MW second stage is pending, though both parties aim to advance it quickly. The parties awarded construction, operations and maintenance (O&M) contracts to Beon Energy.
Calling the joint venture a “real win-win,” Meridian CEO Mike Roan said: “Te Rahui is a big undertaking and sharing the investment and offtake makes strong commercial sense for both parties, while the project will also benefit home and business customers by further strengthening security of supply.”
In December 2024, Meridian Energy and Nova Energy announced a 50-50 joint venture to build and operate the 400MW solar PV plant. At the time of announcement, the project, requiring NZ$660 million (US$370 million) in investment, ranked among the country’s largest solar developments, though still smaller than the proposed 1GW Helios Energy NZ Solar PV Park.
Meridian’s growing renewables portfolio
Wellington-headquartered Meridian plans to build seven large-scale renewable projects by 2030. It has delivered the Ruakaka battery energy storage systems (BESS) plant and started construction at the Ruakaka solar project.
In February 2025, the company secured final planning consent from the Environment Court for its 120MW Ruakaka plant in Tai Tokerau, Northland, after initial approval by the Northland Regional Council in September 2024.
The project will use 250,000 modules to generate 150-250GWh of electricity annually. The construction is set to begin mid-2025 and finish in early 2027, later than the original late 2026 target.
“We are doing our share of the heavy lifting to secure New Zealand’s energy future. Having invested more than NZ$1 billion (US$590 million) in the past five years, we have a further NZ$2 billion (US$1.2 billion) planned for investment over the next three years. These projects will add over 1,000MW of new capacity, a five percent increase to the electricity system,” Roan added.
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