Located at Rangitāiki, 35 kilometres east of Taupo, Nova and Meridian intend to enter into binding agreements in early 2025 including power purchase agreements for the electricity produced from the solar farm, with offtake shared 50-50 between the two parties.
Nova Energy, owned by the Todd Corporation, received approvals for in July 2024 for the 900,000 panelled Te Rahui Solar Farm, that will be built on a 1,022 hectare dairy farm.
Meridian Chief Executive Neal Barclay said the joint venture will be a great example of how collaboration can move big projects forward for the benefit of electricity users.
"At 400 MW, Te Rahui is a big project and sharing the investment and offtake makes strong commercial sense for both parties, while the project will also benefit home and business customers by further strengthening security of supply," Barclay said.
The project is intended to reach financial investment decision (FID) in the first quarter of 2025 and construction will be carried out in two stages, each involving the build of a 200 MW solar plant.
Te Rahui solar farm will produce enough electricity to power around 100,000 homes and will include a new substation to connect to New Zealand's national network operator Transpower's 220 kV transmission line.
