Research solar power farming, as I have been doing for the last few weeks, to get a grip on Hawke’s Bay’s embrace of solar, and you’ll soon hear the famous inventor Thomas Edison’s quote from the 1880s.
“We are like tenant farmers chopping down the fence around our house for fuel when we should be using nature’s inexhaustible sources of energy — sun, wind and tide … I’d put my money on the sun and solar energy. What a source of power!”
Edison would be pleased to hear solar power is now the world’s fastest-growing source of energy. According to the Economist in June 2024, solar currently provides 6% of the world’s electricity but, by the mid-2030s, solar cells will probably be the planet’s single biggest source of electricity.
At the same time, the world’s electricity needs are growing exponentially. Depending on who you talk to, New Zealand could need up to 120% more power generation than it has now, by 2050. Read more…
Hawke’s Bay
In Hawke’s Bay the hot spot for solar farm development is Ongaonga, where key ingredients are making the area a very attractive option. It has high sunshine hours, (one estimate puts that at 1,700 bright sunshine hours per year), limited shading from adjacent mountains, lower grade soils that aren’t irrigated. And importantly, land that is close to a substation to transport power to the National Grid. In Ongaonga’s case the nearby Waipawa Substation is just south of the township on Ongaonga Road.
Currently two big solar farms, spanning a total of nearly 400 hectares, are in process for Ongaonga. One of these is Auckland-based SkySolar Limited’s consented 152 hectare solar farm directly adjacent to the Waipawa sub-station. This is predicted to produce enough electricity to power 18,000 houses per annum, but the project has stalled with a major shareholder in liquidation. Cameron King, director of commercial projects and sales, told BayBuzz the company is now awaiting “final settlement with another international investor” … “and then the solar farm will proceed”.
SkySolar has had a presence in Ongaonga since 2019 when it installed an 80m long array of 160 solar panels on Fairfield Station, and then worked with another Ongaonga farmer on Wakarara Road to put in a 918-panel array. Read more…
Farmer perspective
Ongaonga farmer Duncan Holden agrees.
Holden is one of three Ongaonga farmers who are working with Helios to lease part of their land for a 35 year period.
“We are all farming on lighter soils with Class 4 and 5 soil types,” says Holden. “With no access to irrigation, this land grows stuff-all.”
I meet Holden in Ongaonga and walk with him over stoney soils, which are part of the old Tukituki riverbed. The Tukituki is now set in its flow path, protected by a stop bank. Currently Holden grazes sheep and cattle with some cropping on the better soils.
“Solar has the potential for us to look at intergenerational farming businesses because of the lease term. It promises a greater return than what we are currently getting and we can farm the land with sheep.”
Central Hawke’s Bay District’s Mayor Alex Walker says renewable energy generation is an important investment for her region’s future land-use diversification and resilience. “Our GDP and economy have been very reliant on fibre and meat production. We need different land uses and solar farming is definitely one of them.”
She says the district will benefit from employment opportunities early in the construction phase, as well as wider economic benefits gained by the region becoming a net electricity producer. “For example, Ōtāne has a very good pilot seed-drying facility and wants to expand, but it is very energy intensive. Having this energy production on our door step will definitely help new industry. It will also strengthen local resilience in a disaster on the scale of Cyclone Gabrielle. Read more…
Hawke’s Bay Airport
Hawke’s Bay Airport, in partnership with Manawa Energy, plans to develop a large-scale solar PV installation “airside” that will eventually power the airport, and contribute to local electricity needs. However, Business Development Manager Judi Goldbold says the project is still in the feasibility studies phase.
“When assessments and studies are complete, the project partners will be able to share more information, including an updated development timeline.”
HB power provider Unison is working with the Airport to help them understand the cost and feasibility of connecting to its distribution network. Read more…
Community resilience
A lot of smaller scale solar energy projects are firing across Hawke’s Bay. These will play a vital role in our communities’ future resilience.
As I write, MBIE’s (Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment ) Community Renewable Energy Fund, managed in Hawke’s Bay by Senior Policy Advisor Chris Lambourne, is supporting a major deployment of solar panels and massive battery systems, to the tune of as much as $100,000 each, to community hubs across the region so they can effectively function in a disaster.
When BayBuzz caught up with one provider, Freenergy Solar Solutions, owner Aaron Duncan and his team were installing 40 solar panels on the roof of the Hastings Sports Centre (HSC), and about to start work at Waiohiki Marae. Read more…
Solar leader
Hawke’s Bay is a solar leader with the first private peer-to-peer solar energy network of its kind in New Zealand. Te Rehe Solar Network (TRSN) was created when Hastings-based Financial Advisors’ Stewart Group decided to reduce their reliance on the national power grid by installing a 44kw per hour solar array on their Karamu Road building.
Now partnered with Our Energy company and using bespoke software, Te Rehe has about 120 members buying and selling solar power across HB and as a far north as Northland and Waiheke Island.
One happy Te Rehe member is farmer and Hastings District Councillor Marcus Buddo. He has 24, 375 watt panels on his Poukawa farm’s north-facing woolshed and this is contributing significant power to the woolshed, farm homestead, manager’s cottage and shearers quarters. “Our power bill has gone from about $600 per month to $200.” Read more…
First published by BayBuzz. Click here to read the full article.