A Canterbury farmer leases land for a solar power plant

Farmer Bruce Wilde, who has farmed in Somerton (north of Ashburton) for 30 years, has decided to diversify his income due to the current situation in arable farming. According to him, he can no longer grow peas for Wattie’s, and opportunities for growing grass seed have become limited. Having learned about the possibility of combining solar panel installation with livestock grazing underneath them, the farmer agreed to lease part of his land.

The project is being implemented by Anza Power, an Australian-New Zealand energy developer and operator owned by global infrastructure investor I Squared Capital. This is the company's first such project in New Zealand. The 148-hectare site was previously used for grazing livestock, and this practice will continue after construction is completed. The groundbreaking ceremony was attended by Anza executives Carlo Frigerio, Tāpoko Tewera King of Te Rūnanga o Arowhenua, and Ashburton Mayor Liz McMillan.

The solar farm is designed for a generation capacity of 42 megawatts, and its site has been designed with the potential addition of a battery energy storage system without major retrofits. Commissioning and connection to the EA Network grid are scheduled for early 2028. Anza has signed a power purchase agreement with dairy cooperative Fonterra, which will offtake 80% of the generated energy.

In addition, Anza is developing solar farm projects on two sites in the Selwyn district: the 100 MW Norwood and the 70 MW Highfield in Charing Cross. At the same time, Fonterra is involved in supporting the 129-megawatt Darfield Solar and Energy Storage project in partnership with NZ Clean Energy (NZCE).

Other solar projects are already underway in the Mid-Canterbury region. The first large-scale solar farm here was a joint venture between Genesis Energy and FRV Australia in Lauriston. Lightyears Solar has built an 8-hectare solar farm south of Ashburton in partnership with Ecotricity and RCR Green. Another project is being developed by Lodestone Energy near Mount Somers, where farmer Duncan Hamm has provided part of his family's dryland farm for the construction of a solar installation.