Lead Story
Huge solar farm leaves room for livestock
The term ‘solar farm’ may be about to take on a new meaning in New Zealand, with a proposal to fill 20.5 hectares of farmland with panels, and continue livestock grazing and arable growing underneath. Lodestone Energy Ltd (LEL) has applied to the Far North District Council and Northland Regional Council to establish a 39.4 megawatt solar farm on two parcels of farmland about 3km west of Kaitaia. By rough calculation 39.4MW is sufficient electricity to power 8,000 homes. The plan is to install nearly 95,000 modules (solar panels) spread across 1,172 trackers (bases) able to pitch the panels…