New Zealand grid-scale solar project gets thumbs down by community

Community submissions for a proposed utility-scale agrivoltaic solar farm on Aotearoa New Zealand’s south island, which would have the capacity to power 70,000 homes annually, has returned 75% against the development.

January 7, 2025 Ev Foley

Image: Helios Energy

Almost 200 community submissions about a proposed 300 MW utility-scale solar farm on Aotearoa New Zealand’s (NZs) south island, 400 kilometres southwest of Christchurch, has returned about 75% against the development.

Nearly 200 submissions were received about the Maniototo Plain Solar Farm and battery energy storage system (BESS) in the Central Otago District Council (CODC) region between the Ranfurly and Naseby communities, which is a proposed project by NZ-headquartered renewable developer Helios Energy.

The selected site would lease land from two local farms covering 660 hectares, with an anticipated build of two years, and connect to an existing NZ’s distributor Transpower nearby substation.

Community submissions for a proposed grid-scale solar farm and battery energy storage system on New Zealand’s south island, have not favoured the project.
*Image: Helios Energy*

It would include an estimated 550,810 solar panels mounted on a tracking system and be designed to allow sheep grazing to continue on the site.

Submissions for feedback opened in November 2024 and were followed by a community meeting in Ranfurly in December 2024, where concerns raised have been reported to include potential fire risks from the proposed 32 containerised lithium BESS, reduction in property values, solar panel glare, noise and disruption to the existing landscape view.

In August 2024, Helios sold development rights for a 114 MW solar project in the north island near Edgecumbe to NZ gentailer Genesis Energy.

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