New Zealand renewables company Lodestone Energy’s plans to develop an initial suite of five large-scale solar farms with a combined generation capacity of more than 365 GWh per annum has reached another milestone, with construction beginning on the second of the projects. Lodestone Energy has commenced construction of the 32 MW Edgecumbe Solar Farm after announcing it has reached financial close on the project being developed in the Bay of Plenty Region on New Zealand’s North Island.
The Edgecumbe Solar Farm, being built near the town of the same name, will comprise approximately 60,000 Trina PV modules with tracking technology. It is expected to generate about 53 GWh of clean energy annually, enough to supply more than 6,000 New Zealand homes and businesses.
Lodestone Energy Managing Director Gary Holden said the project is the second of five solar farms in the company’s first growth phase. The construction follows from the beginning of construction of the 39.4 MW Kaitaia Solar Farm in December.
Holden said the solar farms are underpinned by long-term power purchase agreements with retailers Pulse Energy and Prime Energy, with the first projects to generate clean energy before the end of 2023. Lodestone said each solar farm is designed to allow stock grazing and horticulture to continue around and underneath the solar infrastructure, ensuring it maximises New Zealand’s renewable energy output most sustainably. The company said the approach would allow the land to continue to be productive, with more than 85% of baseline farming yield expected when the solar farm is operational.