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Post by Brent George on May 2, 2024 19:38:06 GMT
2-May-2024 RNZ News - Rangitikei: - Integrated Solar & Wind FarmA new solar farm project has been given the green light to be built in the small Rangitīkei town of Marton. Developer Far North Solar Farm gained resource consent to build the 38-hectare solar farm on a sheep farm. The company was planning the construction and financing of the 40 megawatt-peak farm which it said could generate electricity for about 7800 homes once completed. It planned to start on the project later this year. Integrated solar and agricultural farms was a great way for farmers to generate income through leasehold arrangements, Far North Solar Farm spokesperson Greg Hay said. "The panels will be on a fixed tilt design, which means that they'll be fixed to the ground, and face north, and the farmer will still be able to run sheep underneath, so it's an agri-voltaics model, so it really is another case of diversifying land use within a rural environment." It was the company's fifth solar farm development with resource consents granted nationwide. |
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Post by Brent George on Jun 3, 2024 19:43:31 GMT
SNAP - for the South Island...
Consent to lease land for proposed solar farmODT - Business: 4-June-2024Consent has been granted under the Overseas Investment Act for the acquisition of a leasehold interest in nearly 1000ha in the Mackenzie district to build a massive solar farm. Resource consent applications were previously lodged with the Mackenzie District Council and Environment Canterbury to construct and operate the farm over 670ha within a 968ha property near the Ohau C Power Station. The cost of the project has previously been estimated at $600 million.
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Post by Brent George on Jun 9, 2024 20:16:33 GMT
....and also in Marlborough ... perhaps...Council seeks more detail on solar farm neighbours opposedStuff - Marlborough: 24-May-2024The Marlborough District Council has asked for more information about a solar farm proposal, such as possible glare from panels and their lifespan. Neighbours of the site, on Dillons Point Rd near Blenheim, have previously expressed their opposition to the farm going on the land. The 8-hectare site was bought by Marlborough Lines last year with the intention of constructing a solar farm on the site. The consent was lodged by a Marlborough-based resource management consulting company in March on behalf of Energy Marlborough, a subsidiary of Marlborough Lines.
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Post by Brent George on Jun 23, 2024 7:42:55 GMT
Bright future for solar grazing in NZFarmers Weekly - 20-June-2024Agrivoltaics is the way of the future, though not all farms will be able to benefit, say two experts. New Zealand plans to commission about eight gigawatts of solar photovoltaic projects – more than the maximum power demand of the whole country on a typical winter’s day – by 2028, according to the government’s latest generation investment survey. Eight of these solar farms are already operational and spread across the country. More than 40 are in various stages of development, with the construction of the largest single project, in excess of 150 megawatts, due to start this year. Solar farms are not without challenges, though. They can use up farmland and change the rural landscape.
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Post by Brent George on Jun 30, 2024 19:44:39 GMT
National direction needed for large solar farmsStuff - Canterbury: 28-June-2024Canterbury councils are calling for national direction on how to address the expansion of solar farms in the region. The Waimakariri District Council has added its voice to a call from Environment Canterbury (ECan) for advice on how to address issues arising from a growing number of consent applications for large scale solar farms. “Solar farms have recently been of interest in the district,” planning, regulation and environment general manager Kelly LaValley said. “We agree that further national direction on solar farms would be beneficial in considering applications for large scale solar farms.” - Is this a case of closing the gate after the cows and sheep have bolted?
- Is this a case of Councils wanting to catch-up with the implementation of bureaucracy; red-tape; rules; fees and land-use charges that add to the cost of consenting without really providing any benefit?
- Is this a case of Councils not having some foresight and flexibility within District Plans to capture innovative land-usage that address alternate energy source to combat climate change?
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Post by Brent George on Jul 1, 2024 4:14:57 GMT
NZ’s largest solar farm gets the go aheadWaikato Times: 1-July-2024Construction is just months away for what’s slated to become the country’s largest solar farm, near Taupō. Following a lengthy appeals process, Nova Energy chief executive Babu Bahirathan said all the consents required to develop its 400MW solar farm, to be known as Te Rāhui, were now in hand. Te Rāhui will involve converting an existing 1022ha dairy farm - about 35km east of Taupō on State Highway 5 - into a solar farm with approximately 900,000 ground-mounted solar panels producing enough electricity to power 100,000 homes. Construction is scheduled to start in the coming months, with the Taupō mayor and a neighbouring tavern looking forward to extra faces in the area. Bahirathan said the project would create hundreds of local jobs during construction and valuable training opportunities in the burgeoning solar sector.
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Post by Ian Gillespie on Jul 15, 2024 21:06:29 GMT
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