Aotearoa New Zealand renewables company Lodestone Energy has powered up its utility-scale agrivoltaic solar farm on the North Island’s east coast near the Bay of Plenty, which will generate approximately 69 GWh of clean renewable electricity annually from over 71,600 high-efficiency bifacial solar panels, which is enough to power 10,000 homes a year.
The array has been designed to with agricultural activities in mind, setting panels widely apart and high above the ground to allow machinery to operate, stock to graze or horticultural activities to continue around them.
Lodestone Energy Chief Operating Officer Richard Pearce said while the array is 27% larger in capacity than the company’s initial grid-scale project known as Kohirā, both have achieve first generation in a similar timeframe.
“As we develop more utility scale solar farms, our team and primary construction partners, Infratec and New Energy, are streamlining our builds to deliver efficiencies on each subsequent project,” Pearce said.
Te Herenga o Te Rā is New Zealand’s first solar farm to be connected directly to the country’s transmission network service provider (TNSP) Transpower’s national grid.
Lodestone’s first two farms are connected to their local distribution networks and its fourth farm, currently under construction in Whitianga, will be connected to Queensland Investment Corporation and AMP Limited Australian-owned distributor, Powerco’s distribution network.

Image: Lodestone Energy
The company is planning new projects at Dargaville, Manawatu, and Canterbury scheduled to begin construction in 2025. By 2028, Lodestone aims to generate over 800 GWh of certified renewable energy annually, tripling New Zealand’s solar production from 2022 levels.
Lodestone Energy Managing Director Gary Holden said utility scale solar is the lowest cost form of energy and the country will need significant volumes of new solar in order to build a more resilient, secure, lower cost energy system.
“As Lodestone continues to lead investment in the country’s renewable electricity generation, it was critically important that policy and market settings encouraged investor capital into the sector and enabled developments to be executed faster,” Holden said.
Lodestone developed Te Herenga o Te Rā solar farm with industrial-scale poultry farm and supplier Inghams NZ and retail giant The Warehouse Group, which have positioned themselves as sustainability leaders, with their long-term commitment to powering their businesses through renewable energy.
“The certified renewable electricity generated by Te Herenga o Te Rā will significantly contribute to delivering on their plans to rapidly decarbonise their operations,” Lodestone says.
“Our partners are not only solving their own energy needs, but they are also enabling new infrastructure to be built that will benefit Aotearoa for decades to come. With nine further farms planned over the coming three years, we are already in discussions with a range of commercial partners looking to secure their energy futures,” Holden added.
The construction of the Te Herenga o Te Rā solar farm in the Waiotahe Valley began in December 2023 in collaboration with local community stakeholders, including local Indigenous peoples, the hapū Te Ūpokorehe, which named the farm, and translated means, the mooring place of the sun.
In addition to the environmental benefits of solar energy, Te Herenga o Te Rā is delivering broader value to its community. The build itself has injected economic value through job creation and upskilling opportunities, while the increased supply of locally generated electricity will contribute to the region’s energy resilience long into the future.

Image: Lodestone Energy
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A map showing where exactly it is located, would be good.