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Thursday, May 1, 2025

Chris Lynch: New Zealand’s largest solar farm opens on Canterbury Plains


New Zealand’s largest solar farm has officially opened on the Canterbury Plains, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony held on site at Lauriston.

The $104 million Lauriston Solar Farm, a joint project between Genesis and FRV Australia, features more than 90,000 solar panels across 93 hectares. It is now generating up to 100 GWh of electricity a year — enough to power nearly 13,000 households.

Located about an hour’s drive from Christchurch, the 63 MW solar farm is the first developed by Genesis as part of its plan to build up to 500 MW of solar energy capacity across New Zealand.

Genesis Chief Executive Malcolm Johns said the opening marked a major milestone for the company’s long-term renewable strategy, Gen35.

“For New Zealand to reach net zero 2050, the country’s energy must become 60% electric, 95% renewable, and available 100% of the time,” Johns said. “Solar has a clear role to play in this transition and we’re committed to expanding this area of our business.”

The opening was attended by Minister for the South Island and Rangitata MP James Meager, iwi representatives, Ashburton Mayor Neil Brown, EA Networks chief executive Onno Mulder, and representatives from Genesis, FRV Australia, and construction partner Beon Energy Solutions.

FRV Australia Chief Executive Carlo Frigerio said the Lauriston project demonstrated the potential for renewable energy to deliver benefits both to local communities and to the country’s wider sustainability goals.

Minister James Meager said the solar farm’s completion meant thousands of additional households — roughly equivalent to the size of Ashburton — were now powered by renewable energy.

“This project shows the opportunities for further solar generation in Canterbury and the South Island. It’s also an example of the type of joint ventures we want to see more of, having not required financial assistance from the Government,” Meager said.

About 100 people were employed during construction, and the site will continue to employ three staff now it is operational, with additional work supported through local contractors and service providers.

General Manager of Beon Energy Solutions Kieren Lewis said the project was a major achievement for the team and the local economy.

“We are proud to contribute to New Zealand’s clean energy future while supporting meaningful economic and social benefits for local communities, businesses, and workers,” Lewis said.

In addition to the solar farm, Genesis and FRV Australia have entered into a sponsorship agreement with nearby Lauriston School, committing funding over the next five years to support education in STEMM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and mātauranga Māori).

Lauriston School Board of Trustees Chair Craig Wiggins said the partnership was about more than money.

“It’s a commitment to educational excellence and to the future of our tamariki. Genesis and FRV have set a high benchmark for innovation and enterprise — values that resonate strongly within our school community,” he said.

Genesis said lessons learned from building the Lauriston Solar Farm were already being applied to future projects, with a solar development at Leeston expected to be approved in late 2026 and generating by 2027.

“We’re excited to apply what we’ve learned from the Lauriston project to Leeston, increasing our contribution to New Zealand’s renewable generation,” Johns said.

Broadcaster Chris Lynch is an award winning journalist who also produces Christchurch news and video content for domestic and international companies. This article was originally published by Chris Lynch Media and is published here with kind permission.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Has anyone done a calculation of the cost/benefit ratio to erecting acres of solar panels, and ongoing maintenance costs (of which there will be many!) as opposed to hydro or coal fired power?

CXH said...

I love how Genesis is so proud of the funding they are generously giving to the local school. Such an easy thing to do when you know you can just dump the cost straight onto the already high bills their captive customers get to pay.

Janine said...

Don't support Genesis then. Why are they funding Matariki Maori?

Robert Arthur said...

Remakably, all acheived apparently without paying maori for the sunshine.

Allen Heath said...

Nothing there about whether grazing is still possible under the panels; nothing about what the land might have been useful for; nothing about the fact that the panels are (usually) made in China; nothing about the need for batteries to store power, batteries made from scarce metals; nothing about the limited life of the panels and finally, nothing about the last two days' storm during which sunlight was noticeably absent and with winter on the way and even less solar radiation. Sure, I'm a naysayer, but this looks like another lot of climate-crisis-driven horse manure.

Anonymous said...

dead right allen .

Anonymous said...

That is now 93 hectares of water runoff that used to soak into the soil.
Now where does it go ???
Somewhere useful, or is it contributing to flash flooding ?

Bloody ironic as my local council has not allowed me to pur a shelter over my deck as it exceeds the ratio of non absorbant surfaces for my property.

Anonymous said...

It is now generating up to 100 GWh of electricity a year — enough to power nearly 13,000 households.
-----------

No, it is not.
63MW is nameplate capacity, which should be expressed as 63MWp, which is a theoretical maximum capacity. In practical terms the efficiency of a solar farm panels is a little above 20%, which translates to an average output of about 13.23 MW.

Anonymous said...

But they are paying Maori!

Basil Walker said...

Nothing about the back up electricity production required so the actual cost of solar is the cost of a back up generator plus the solar farm . I trust it was built under the transmission lines so Transpower doees not need to spend further funds on transmission.
Actually Meager needs to state unequically does he believe solar power is available 24 hours from this Lauriston solar farm .
As an aside Malcom Johns from Genesis is the whizz kid who spent > $50 million CHCH ratepayers funds on a dead rat airport proposal at Tarras in Central Otago. He said "at least I tried" with someone elses money . WOW Yeah Right .

Allen said...

The "up to 100GWh" should be more like 70GWh based on 1,100KWh/installed Kw/year, a BRANZ figure for Canterbury and the 13,000 homes should be more like 10,000 homes, based on an annual household consumption of 7,000KWh, taken from Figure.nz.
But, never let a few facts get in the way of an optimistic story.

Anonymous said...

Yet another lemon that will never live up to its promises and the taxpayer will eventually have to bear the cost of its failure

Anonymous said...

And of course kids need to learn about matauranga and te ao Maori as it relates to energy production. Where there's big bucks to be spent, there's grift to be had. Important skills for later life.

Anonymous said...

has anyone checked if this is now flooded?