New company plans NZ's first major solar farms

New company plans NZ's first major solar farms
Plans for new solar farms include ongoing use of land for agriculture.
Ian Llewellyn
A new company says it intends to build New Zealand’s first major industrial-scale solar farms at a cost of $300 million.The five solar farms across the upper North Island would generate approximately 400 Gigawatt hours (GWh) with more than 500,000 solar panels over 500 hectares of land.Lodestone Energy managing director, Gary Holden, said the development is the most ambitious solar venture in NZ to date and will provide solar energy to Dargaville, Kaitaia, Whakatane, Edgecumbe, and Whitianga.The first site planned for development is a 62...

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