Lodestone develops three New Zealand solar farms

The construction will be between 2024 to 2026.

Lodestone Energy has secured the approval to develop solar projects in three sites in South Island, New Zealand.

In a statement, Lodestone said the projects are located in Clandeboye, Mount Somers and Dunsandel.

The Dunsandel site alone is expected to produce 80 gigawatt hours of electricity annually. This will be connected via Orion’s new Norwood GXP.

Meanwhile, the Clandeboye and Mount Somers projects will connect to the Alpine Energy and Electricity Ashburton networks.

The three projects will be developed in partnership with HES Aotearoa and will be partially funded by a (NZ$250m) debt facility with ANZ Bank New Zealand Limited.

“In keeping with Lodestone’s agrivoltaic approach for all farms, the Dunsandel farm, which recently received consent approval from Selwyn Council, is located on a 100-hectare block leased to Lodestone and will continue to maintain productive farming activity. This combined use of agricultural and solar productivity results in more efficient use of the land and creates new value for the nation,” said Lodestone General Manager Development Daniel Cunningham.