Plans are underway to establish a large-scale solar farm on a 1022ha site southeast of Taupō.
If and when it is completed, it will comprise 900,000 ground-mounted solar panels arranged across the site, 98 centralised inverters and a switchyard near the south side of the transmission lines. Construction will take place in three stages.
It will generate 400MW of energy for the national grid according to the company behind the proposal, Todd Corporation.
The site – which is 35km southeast of Taupō and directly opposite the Rangitāiki Tavern – is currently a 2600-cow dairy farm, which will be phased out as the stages are completed.
This is expected to take place over a five-year period, with stage one taking two years to construct and commission, and stages two and three taking one year each.
Construction on the first stage is planned to start in the last quarter of 2022, with all three stages to be completed and the solar farm operational by the last quarter of 2027.
Todd Corporation lodged land-use consents with the Taupō District Council and the Bay of Plenty Regional Council in April.
The Taupō council notified the consent in May and hearings on the proposal are planned for September 20.
The proposal has received a handful of submissions. Federated Farmers Rotorua/Taupō has taken a neutral stance in its submission, which was written by provincial president Colin Guyton.
“We note that the conversion of pastoral farms and horticulture either wholly or partially to ‘solar farms’ is a new area that Federated Farmers is navigating, in terms of our position and understanding of effects.
“Federated Farmers wants to ensure that due diligence is undertaken by the applicant, and any environmental impacts can be appropriately managed or mitigated,” Guyton said.
Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency also took a neutral stance, and Fire and Emergency supported the project.
Local farmers Allan and Beth Crafar opposed the project, saying it would involve the loss of 3000 dairy cows to New Zealand, resulting in an annual loss of at least $30 million to the NZ economy.
They also opposed the project on the grounds that its construction would cause environmental damage, as would the eventual disposal of the solar panels, they said.
“My information is that solar panels never, in their useful life, return enough energy to replace the environmental and energy cost of making them,” the Crafar submission said.
“NZ does not need these eyesores on the landscape that only produce intermittent power, which causes all sorts of problems balancing the power in the national grid, when we have abundant 24/7 power potential being wasted by not harnessing our water resources properly.”
According to consent documents, the solar panel arrays will stand 2.3m high at the centre of the array, with panels tilted at a 45-degree angle measuring 4.3m at their highest.
The arrays will range in length between 28m and 90m, with 11m spacings between the arrays when in the horizontal position.
The inverters are similar in size to a shipping container, and the switchyard will cover an area of 10,000m2. Some of the components will be 23m in height, with most of the structures being 9.1m high.
About 20 staff will be employed in the operation and maintenance of the farm. Once fully operational, control of the farm will be automated with remote monitoring of the plant from a control room.
According to Todd Corporation’s website, it is anticipated that the plant will eventually generate renewable electricity to power 100,000 homes.
“The Rangitāiki solar power plant represents a significant investment in New Zealand’s future renewable energy supply. About three-quarters of a million individual solar panels covering more than 1000ha will track the sun from east to west each day,” the website reads.
It says plans also include restoring wetlands, riparian planting along the Otamatea River, which runs through the site, and job training for locals.
Todd Corporation has been approached for comment.
