Lodestone – Te Herenga o Te Rā, Waiotahe

About

New Energy is working with Infratec to deliver Lodestone Energy’s third utility-scale solar farm, Te Herenga o Te Rā. Based in Waiotahe, Bay of Plenty, this will be Lodestone’s largest farm to date at 42MW, and follows Kohirā and Rangitaiki Solar Farms, all delivered in partnership with New Energy/Infractec.

Groundbreaking occurred in late 2023 with construction beginning in January 2024. Mechanical completion of the solar farm has been completed ahead of schedule in July 2024 with the Electrical works also tracking ahead of schedule.

The farm will generate enough electricity to supply more than 9,500 typical New Zealand small businesses, farms, homes and apartments every year. New Energy is completing the Mechanical and Electrical installation of the Trina 2P single axis tracker system on this solar farm. The site utilises approximately 72,000 Trina PV modules and will supply electricity to the greater Bay of Plenty.

This project is New Energy’s third solar farm with Lodestone and Infratec after the Kaitaia and Edgecumbe projects.