The Kōwhai Park Solar Farm Project is a 168 megawatt (MW) solar farm to be located near Christchurch Airport, in New Zealand.The project proponent Christchurch Airport has stated that this scope comprises Phase One of the project, however no further detail has been provided on future phases. The project site will span 230 hectares.
The solar farm is being developed adjacent to Transpower’s national grid and Orion’s Canterbury distribution network.
Key Dates
| Dec 2021 | Project Announcement |
| Aug 2024 | Construction Commencement |
| 2026 | Expected Construction Completion |
Financing
|
Lighthouse bp secured NZ$267 million through a green financing loan from Westpac New Zealand, Mizuho, China Construction Bank and Intesa Sanpaolo. |
Procurement
| Procuring Agency: | Christchurch Airport |
| Successful Tenderer: | Lightsource BP and Contact Energy |
| Procurement note: | The project is being developed by a joint-venture between Lightsource bp and Contact Energy, in partnership with Christchurch Airport. Chintec has been engaged to undertake the construction of the solar farm. Ventia will be delivering all network connection infrastructure. |
| Related contracts: |
PROJECT HISTORY
| Apr 2022 | Contact and Lightsource BP entered an exclusive partnership to co-develop grid scale solar farms in New Zealand. |
| Feb 2023 | Christchurch Airport selected a joint venture between Contact Energy and Lightsource BP as its development partner. |
| Aug 2024 | Lightsource BP announced that they had secured a NZ$267 million green financing loan from Westpac New Zealand, Mizuho, China Construction Bank and Intesa Sanpaolo. |
| Aug 2024 | Christchurch Airport announced that construction had commenced on the solar farm. |
