New Zealand

Trina Solar continues to cement its transition from PV panel manufacturer to a single supplier for solar projects, having delivered both PV modules and a tracking system for New Zealand’s largest operational solar farm.

New Zealand renewables company Lodestone Energy’s plans to develop an initial suite of five large-scale solar farms with a combined generation capacity of more than 365 GWh per annum has reached another milestone with construction beginning on the second of the projects.

New Zealand’s large-scale solar PV market is poised for a momentous shift with energy company Todd Generation pursuing plans to establish a 400 MW solar farm at Rangitāiki on the North Island.

Two of Australia’s most prominent energy players, Fortescue Future Industries and oil giant Woodside Energy, have been included on a shortlist of potential development partners for a proposed 600MW green hydrogen production and export facility on New Zealand’s South Island.

National utility Transpower said that solar could take a 9.3% share of the country’s generation mix by the middle of the century. However, real growth is only forecast to occur from 2035, with distributed generation expected to account for more than 80% of total installed PV.

A report published by New Zealand’s state-owned transmission grid operator Transpower finds the widespread uptake of distributed battery storage could play an important role in supporting the power system as rooftop PV and electric vehicles are increasingly adopted.

Wirsol Energy and Australian developer Renew Estate have agreed to collaborate on a renewables pipeline of more than 1 GW, starting in Australia. The new venture already has 400 MW of utility-scale solar capacity under development and plans to start construction on its first projects by the first quarter of 2018.