Latest news with #Waipara
RNZ News
10-07-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
North Canterbury locals get say over huge solar farm
North Canterbury residents are being encouraged to have their say on a proposed 180 hectare solar farm on a property near their village. Photo: Unsplash North Canterbury residents are being encouraged to have their say on a proposed 180 hectare solar farm on a property near their village. The Hurunui District Council has notified a resource consent application from Auckland-based Far North Solar Farm Ltd to build near Waipara, north of Amberley. At its peak, the farm's 250,000 panels would generate up to 144 megawatts, enough to power an estimated 30,000 homes. The Waipara Residents' Association wrote to the council last year calling for the consent to be notified, and chairperson Steven Ellis says he is pleased the community will have a say. He says there are a range of views in the community. ''Everyone has their own views one way or the other for different reasons. ''Some can't see a problem and there's others who think it is not a good situation to have a solar farm this close to a village. ''It is obviously going to be something quite substantial.'' Mr Ellis encouraged residents to have a look at the application on the council's website and form their own view on how it might effect them and ''whether it is a good thing for the community or not''. A group of concerned residents formed Save Waipara Valley last year and set up a website, Save Waipara Valley founder Lizzy Kelsey urged concerned residents to make a submission. "Such a large-scale industrial development has no place so close to homes, or in our flourishing tourism district," she said. Among the group's concerns are the potential impacts on the environment, how the solar panels would stand up to ''North Canterbury's notoriously strong winds'', the risks to passing motorists from glare from the panels and the impact on property values. Hurunui District Council staff have determined ''the adverse effects of the application'' to the landscape and the visual effects are more than minor. Construction of the solar farm is expected to take around two years. The proposed solar farm is a joint venture between Far North Solar Farm Ltd, a solar energy asset developer based in Auckland, and Aquila Clean Energy Asia Pacific, a clean energy platform headquartered in Singapore. Submissions close on Thursday, 24 July. LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
NZ Herald
25-05-2025
- Business
- NZ Herald
Meridian opens $186m battery farm to boost Northland's energy resilience
However, it could also mean power gets reinstated more quickly after events such as the blackout caused when one of the pylons carrying the region's main electricity supply north of Auckland collapsed last June. Perched about a kilometre from Northland's largest port and opposite a Transpower substation, the storage system is Meridian's first project in Northland and phase one of its planned Ruakākā Energy Park. Already connected to the national grid for activation once final tests are complete, the facility was officially opened on Friday. Meridian's general manager of development Guy Waipara said the facility was capable of storing 200 megawatt hours of power and at full capacity, could release 100 megawatts of power for two hours to 60,000 households. It represented a growing trend towards distributed energy resources that could respond quickly to grid needs while supporting the shift to renewable energy, Waipara said. 'When demand is low and power is cheap or there's lots of wind or solar power being generated, we can charge the system. 'When demand peaks – like at 7pm when everyone comes home and turns on their ovens – we can discharge stored power." Waipara said that balancing capability reduced reliance on fossil fuel plants that would otherwise need to be activated during peak demand periods. The storage system could be charged when power prices were cheaper or power was in lesser demand, for instance overnight, or when there was lots of wind or solar power being generated. It could potentially undergo daily charging and discharging cycles multiple times daily, depending on demand patterns and renewable energy production. Stored power could be released at peak times but also if there was a problem with the grid. It would be a crucial support for the second stage of Meridian's Ruakākā Energy Park – a $227 million solar farm planned for the 172ha adjoining the 2ha corner on which the battery storage facility sits. Work on the farm was expected to start this August with power production possible in 2027. Waipara said specific details about the system's role during major infrastructure failures were not yet known. However, the increased localised generation and storage capacity in Northland would inherently improve the region's resilience in an electricity crisis. It couldn't prevent a blackout of the type caused when a pylon collapsed but could accelerate recovery by providing power for extended periods. Together the two assets – the storage facility and the solar farm – would help restore power where it was crucially needed markedly faster, Waipara said. Having power at their door, would enable distribution companies to better manage supply to critical infrastructure like CBDs, hospitals, and schools. Waipara could not say whether the projects would bring down the region's notoriously high power prices. However, he said it would certainly put downward pressure on them. Asked about the consent process for the planned 250,000-panelled solar farm, Waipara said it had been lengthy and expensive. In January this year, the Environment Court signed off a mediated agreement between Meridian, Forest and Bird, and Fish and Game. The environmental organisations had concerns, particularly about the protection of local wetlands. The company agreed to fence off 9ha of wetland areas on the wind farm site and to establish a new 5ha wetland near the Ruakākā shops. Waipara said he was personally excited about those projects, which would include the installation of about 200,000 new plants. He said Meridian had been working closely with local hapū since 2021 and would continue to do so. He said a key lesson for the company was the importance of reaching agreements with stakeholders before going to adjudication. Waipara emphasised the need to 'come up with an agreement that makes sense for all parties involved' rather than relying on the formal RMA (Resource Management Act) process. The community was expected to benefit from some of the 100 jobs likely to be created by the energy park. Meridian had also prioritised using local contractors where possible, Waipara said. He said the company would undoubtedly make use of the Fast Track Approvals Act 2024 in future but that would not lessen its commitment to high environmental and cultural standards. Fast-tracking shouldn't mean cutting corners on ecological work, stakeholder engagement, or iwi consultation, Waipara said.
