Just last month, a new solar farm was proposed by Far North Solar Farm on the banks of Lake Benmore, near the town of Twizel in the South Island. The planned solar farm titled “The Point”, would be the country’s largest with the firm behind the project recently looking into applying for fast-track approval through the government’s initiatives. This comes at a time when the government is urging the nation to move towards renewable energy sources at a time when the energy infrastructure is being overwhelmed. Hence, the new planned solar farm would be covered with over 736,000 solar panels, spread out across 530 hectares of land. For context, the total size of the farmland would be 670 hectares, yet the farm would only cover 30% of the actual land. This sizeable farm would be large enough to power 100,000 homes, which in return would relieve the stress on the existing energy infrastructure of the near Ohau C Hydro station.
This comes at a time when several other solar farms are being constructed or opened such as the Ruawai Solar Farm in Northland which opened today, powering 3000 homes a year. Large solar farms are also being planned near Te Aroha in Waikato with 330,000 solar panels aiming to power 35,000 homes.
Whilst all of the new initiatives for building more solar farms across the country would help to relieve stress from the power grid, several groups such as Forest & Bird have raised issues surrounding the environmental impact of the construction of such a large solar farm. Issues surrounding the destruction of the natural landscape, as the Mackenzie Basin is designated as an outstanding Natural landscape, and “more industrial clutter may undermine the landscape”. Therefore, the organisation has asked Far North Solar Farm to assess the land more and potentially find other sites.
However, the existing land-owner who is a farmer, has argued that the land is unproductive and hence would serve a greater good if it could be diversified by having a solar farm. In an age where Solar Farms are becoming increasingly common across the nation, many individuals often raise concerns surrounding the ‘sight’ of such farms and whether they have a negative impact on the Natural landscape. It should be noted that Solar Farms have one of the smallest impacts on the environment, as opposed to Hydropower and Coal which either pollute carbon emissions or destroy marine habitats. Solar Power is therefore seen as an option which would have the least impact on the environment, yet supply a reliable source of energy, however, issues arise within the locations where such farms are located.
Regardless of one’s view, it is important to recognise the need for solar farms to be constructed in a move towards more sustainable energy sources, yet discussions should be held with local communities to identify suitable locations that would please the community. Within Auckland, there are limited renewable energy sources such as solar or wind, as the majority of the electricity in Auckland is sourced from other renewables such as hydropower. Overall, the recent initiatives to create new solar farms across New Zealand are great examples of a country choosing to minimise its environmental footprint by opting for more sustainable energy choices.
