Environment / Energy

Solar farm approved for Waikato to power 30,000 homes

09:05 am on 21 September 2022

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solar panels with grazing sheep Photo: Karl-Friedrich Hohl

A UK based energy company has been granted approval to develop a solar farm in Waikato which will generate electricity to power 30,000 homes.

The Environmental Protection Authority has approved Harmony Energy's proposal for approximately 330,000 solar panels to be installed on 182 hectares of a 260-hectare site at Te Aroha West.

The land is currently a dairy farm, but livestock grazing will continue with sheep around the panels.

Construction will get underway in 2024, with the solar farm operational in 2025.

Kathryn speaks with Pete Grogan, a New Zealander who co-founded Harmony Energy.