Genesis Energy partners with Australian solar farm developer

Genesis Energy is partnering with an Australian firm to invest in solar energy farms that can produce enough power to support 100,000 households per year.

Genesis will own a 60 percent stake in the joint venture with the solar farm developer FRV Australia.

The company said FRV Australia's expertise in large-scale solar energy projects would help it deliver up to 500 megawatts (MW) of capacity over the next five years.

"This will generate about 750 giggawatt hours (GWh) per annum - enough to power 100,000 households or 185,000 electric vehicles per year," it said.

Genesis chief operations officer Nigel Clark said that FRV had won the competitive selection process because of its experience developing large-scale solar projects, its access to global supply chains and its strategic fit.

"The joint venture will maximise the capabilities of both parties, enabling us to achieve our ambition to become a leading developer of solar generation in New Zealand."

Genesis had previously set a goal to displace 2650GWh of power generation from fossil fuels with renewable energy by 2030.

It had recently opened the Waipipi windfarm in Taranaki and signed agreements with rival generators to secure a supply of renewable power from new projects that were in development.

"Combined, these four projects will create 1935 GWh per year of renewable generation, putting us well on the way toward our goal of displacing 2650GWh of thermal power," Clark said.

FRV Australia managing director Carlo Frigerio said he was delighted to partner with Genesis and bring its experience to develop the large-scale solar farms in New Zealand.

The company had developed 800MW of solar projects to date in Australia, with a further 250MW of generation under construction.

Genesis expected the solar farms would be mainly in the North Island, with a focus on being near existing transmission connection points.

The first location would be confirmed early next year, it said.