Meridian’s proposed Western Bays Solar Farm on the western side of Lake Taupō has taken a step forward, with the project referred for consideration under the Fast-track consenting process.
If approved, it will be one of the largest solar farms in New Zealand, generating up to 420MW (870GWh) of renewable electricity. Meridian says that is enough to power 113,000 homes and is equivalent to roughly 2% of New Zealand’s current electricity generation.
The project also has the option to include distributed on-site batteries, with a potential combined capacity of 250MW and up to eight hours of storage.
Meridian Head of Renewable Energy Rebecca Nicholson-Knott told Lake FM the referral meant the minister “saw value in our initial application, and that it ticked all the right boxes.”
“And so now that means a fast track panel will take a closer look at an application that’s even more extensive that we’ll be putting together,” she said.
Meridian expects to submit its substantive application early next year.
The site is currently a dairy farm, and Meridian is leasing the land. Nicholson-Knott said the change in land use would benefit the lake.
“One of the benefits of this is that there’ll be reduced nutrients going into the lake when that shifts from cows to having sheep grazing under the solar panels,” she said.
She also said the solar farm would not be visible from the lake.
“I think that’s important to people,” she said.
Nicholson-Knott said the landscape in the area, along with planned planting, means the farm won’t be visible from the wider rural area either. Asked whether motorists on the state highway along that side of the lake would see it, she said: “Not really, no, especially not with the planting that we’re planning to do.”
Meridian Chief Executive Mike Roan said the company had been working on the project for a couple of years.
“Fast-track requires a lot of work to be done up front, so we’ve been working hard on this project for a couple of years. We’ve taken time to ensure the application is as detailed and well thought-out as possible, based on feedback from iwi and hapū, and the local community,” Roan said.
Meridian says that if the project is approved, it would boost the local and regional economy through employment and spending during construction, as well as permanent roles once the farm is operating.
Western Bays would be Meridian’s second major project in the Taupō area. The company is also part of a joint venture with Nova building the Te Rāhui solar farm at Rangitaiki.
