The charms of New Zealand, it appears, have become attractive to solar developers as well as end-of-the-world-fleeing Silicon Valley billionaires.
Three English solar developers today announced the formation of a joint venture to develop a 350 MW utility scale solar pipeline in New Zealand, having been attracted by the clear environmental commitments made by Jacinda Ardern‘s government; a lack of the grid congestion which is hobbling PV in neighboring Australia; and high levels of solar irradiation – compared to England, anyway.
pv magazine print edition
Hampshire-based Hive Energy today announced the formation of its HES Aotearoa joint venture along with the Exeter-based Ethical Power Group that Hive acquired half of in November, and fellow installer and developer Solar South West, which takes its name from its location in Crewkerne, Somerset, in southwest England.
The press release issued by Hive today did not specify whether the stakes held by each partner would be evenly split and did not indicate any finalized plans for solar farms as yet.
The statement did, however, point to the commitment made by Ardern's Labor government to have an entirely renewables-based electricity system this decade and its decision to stop issuing gas exploration licenses.
Quoted in the press release, Hive CEO Giles Redpath said: “This new joint venture with Ethical Power and Solar South West presents an exciting opportunity to deliver Hive Energy’s mission to support a cleaner, greener future, through its pipeline of nearly 350 MW of solar assets. New Zealand’s excellent natural conditions for solar energy, along with its opportunities for grid connections and support from the government, presents a unique opportunity for HES Aotearoa.”
This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.
1 comment
By submitting this form you agree to pv magazine using your data for the purposes of publishing your comment.
Your personal data will only be disclosed or otherwise transmitted to third parties for the purposes of spam filtering or if this is necessary for technical maintenance of the website. Any other transfer to third parties will not take place unless this is justified on the basis of applicable data protection regulations or if pv magazine is legally obliged to do so.
You may revoke this consent at any time with effect for the future, in which case your personal data will be deleted immediately. Otherwise, your data will be deleted if pv magazine has processed your request or the purpose of data storage is fulfilled.
Further information on data privacy can be found in our Data Protection Policy.