Latest news with #TraceyHickman
Otago Daily Times
15-07-2025
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
Another Canty solar farm on cards
Genesis is on track to make a final investment decision midway into next year to spend $110 million on building another large solar farm in Canterbury. The planned venture in Leeston would have 74,400 solar panels over 111ha. This follows the power company launching a $104m solar farm with peak generation of 63MWp (Megawatt peak) at Lauriston, also in Canterbury, in a joint venture with FRV Australia last April. More than 90,000 solar panels on the 93ha site are now generating up to 100GWh (Gigawatt hours) of electricity a year, enough to power nearly 13,000 households. Leeston would potentially start generating 67MWp, up to 110GWh/pa in 2017. This could become the company's third-largest solar farm behind proposals to also build more sites at Foxton (80MWp) and Edgecumbe (127MWp). Genesis said Leeston could be built before the other two sites and all three of them were pending final investment decisions. Unlike Lauriston, the power company plans to make the full investment in developing Leeston without FRV Australia. Farmland would be leased for the project. Chief operating officer Tracey Hickman said consents were in place for the project with designs progressing towards the final investment decision stage. She said the project could be expected to serve the power needs of 15,700 households. Genesis was committed to scaling up its solar generation, she said. "To meet New Zealand's net zero 2050 target, 95% of electricity generation must come from renewable sources, up from 85% today. "Solar is a good addition to New Zealand's generation mix and when it reaches scale it will play an important role in helping manage supply when hydro levels are low and the wind doesn't blow at windfarms." She said the company's Gen35 strategy included a target to build 500MW of solar capacity throughout New Zealand. "The Leeston site will be another step toward achieving that. "Solar is also the perfect partner to the grid-scale battery we're installing at Huntly Power Station. "We'll be able to store the equivalent energy generated by our solar farms during the day, and release it at night when demand is high." The Lauriston site is proving to be a successful solar farm and the company appreciated the community support during its construction, she said. "We're excited to progress the Leeston site and others we have in our pipeline around the country." Genesis was continuing to make progress on the Edgecumbe development, lining up early engineering and main contracts as it headed toward a final investment decision later this year. The solar farm has a targeted operational date of early to mid 2027. The company's solar farm site in Foxton, near Palmerston North was accepted for inclusion under the Fast-track Approvals Act and would be presented for approval once due diligence was completed. Many more solar farms throughout the country are on the drawing board, including Waikato's proposed Tauhei Solar Farm, near Te Aroha, between UK's Harmony Energy and First Renewables Ltd, of 202MWp. Far North Solar Farm Ltd has applied for a land use consent from Hurunui District Council to build a 181ha site in North Canterbury's Waipara. Submissions will be accepted by residents until July 24 for the publicly notified proposal to put in 250,000 panels generating up to 145MWp, enough to power about 30,000 homes. Further proposals by the company have included a 450MWp solar development on 670ha near Lake Benmore. Among others, Helios Energy had put plans on hold to consider community feedback for 560,000 solar panels with the potential to power up to 70,000 homes at a solar farm between Naseby and Ranfurly in Central Otago on 660ha.
Otago Daily Times
13-07-2025
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
Another solar farm likely for Canterbury
Genesis is on track to make a final investment decision in the middle of next year to spend $110 million on building another large solar farm in Canterbury. The planned venture in Leeston would have 74,400 solar panels over 111ha. This follows the power company launching a $104m solar farm with peak generation of 63 megawatts (MWp) at Lauriston, also in Canterbury, in a joint venture with FRV Australia last April. More than 90,000 solar panels on the 93ha site are now generating up to 100 gigawatt hours (GWh) of electricity a year, enough to power nearly 13,000 households. Leeston would potentially start generating 67MWp, up to 110GWh/pa in 2027. This could become the company's third-largest solar farm behind proposals to also build more sites at Foxton (80MWp) and Edgecumbe (127MWp). Genesis said Leeston could be built before the other two sites and all three of them are pending final investment decisions. Unlike Lauriston, the power company plans to make the full investment in developing Leeston without FRV Australia. Farmland would be leased for the project. Chief operating officer Tracey Hickman said consents were in place for the project with designs progressing towards the final investment decision stage. She said the project could be expected to serve the power needs of 15,700 households. Genesis was committed to scaling up its solar generation, she said. "To meet New Zealand's net zero 2050 target, 95% of electricity generation must come from renewable sources, up from 85% today. "Solar is a good addition to New Zealand's generation mix and when it reaches scale it will play an important role in helping manage supply when hydro levels are low and the wind doesn't blow at windfarms." She said the company's Gen35 strategy included a target to build 500MW of solar capacity throughout New Zealand. "The Leeston site will be another step towards achieving that. "Solar is also the perfect partner to the grid-scale battery we're installing at Huntly Power Station. "We'll be able to store the equivalent energy generated by our solar farms during the day and release it at night when demand is high." The Lauriston site is proving to be a successful solar farm, and the company appreciated the community support during its construction, she said. "We're excited to progress the Leeston site and others we have in our pipeline around the country." Genesis was continuing to make progress on the Edgecumbe development, lining up early engineering and main contracts as it headed towards a final investment decision later this year. The solar farm has a targeted operational date of early to mid 2027. The company's solar farm site in Foxton, near Palmerston North was accepted for inclusion under the Fast Track Approvals Act and would be presented for approval once due diligence was completed. Many more solar farms throughout the country are on the drawing board, including Waikato's proposed Tauhei Solar Farm, near Te Aroha, between UK's Harmony Energy and First Renewables Limited of 202MWp. Far North Solar Farm Limited has applied for a land use consent from Hurunui District Council to build a 181ha site in North Canterbury's Waipara. Submissions will be accepted by residents until July 24 for the publicly notified proposal to put in 250,000 panels generating up to 145MWp, enough to power about 30,000 homes. Further proposals by the company have included a 450MWp solar development on 670ha near Lake Benmore. Among others, Helios Energy had put plans on hold to consider community feedback for 560,000 solar panels with the potential to power up to 70,000 homes at a solar farm between Naseby and Ranfurly in Central Otago on 660ha.
RNZ News
30-06-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Concerns about energy security prompt hunt for more power
Huntly Power Station. Photo: GENESIS ENERGY Genesis Energy says it is "actively exploring" new generation for the Huntly Power Station amid concerns about the country's energy security . The company said a new fast-start generation plant could potentially provide additional capacity of 50 to 100 megawatts and be available from winter 2027. It could run on different fuels, including natural gas, diesel and liquefied natural gas (LNG). The latter is currently not imported into New Zealand. Genesis chief operating officer Tracey Hickman said recent winters and future modelling suggested the need for additional firming capacity. "The Huntly site is best suited to house this additional plant both in terms of its location and proximity to key infrastructure," Hickman said. "The Huntly site has existing connections to the national grid, is close to the high-demand centres of Auckland, Hamilton and Tauranga, has the space and infrastructure that enable the plant to readily access and operate on different fuels, and has a competent specialist workforce required to manage diverse fuel supplies and operate the plant." Hickman said Genesis would evaluate its options and approach the market to gauge interest. Genesis said additional flexible generation capacity would help with risk management products that independent retailers, generators, and large industrial users struggled to access due to low supply. "Ultimately, the appetite to enter into these contracts would be a key consideration in deciding to proceed with the considerable investment new flexible capacity would entail," Genesis said. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
