1 GW Solar Partnership For New Zealand

• Aquila Capital and FNSF have joined hands to co-develop up to 1 GW of solar energy capacity in New Zealand
• This capacity is to be developed across multiple sites in the country's north and South islands
• Some of the projects are expected to undergo construction in 2022; on completion the entire portfolio will represent close to 11% of the country's clean generation capacity

German investment manager Aquila Capital is backing utility scale solar farm developer Far North Solar Farm (FNSF) to co-develop up to 1 GW large scale solar power capacity in New Zealand.

The duo plan to construct this portfolio that on completion is likely to supply approximately 4% of the national energy demand. It will represent approximately 11% of the country's clean energy generation capacity, they claimed.

Projects in this pipeline, developed by FNSF, are spread across multiple sites in North and South Island. Some of the facilities are expected to undergo construction in 2022.

FNSF's counts its solar assets under development as adding up to 1.13 GW, all of which are reaching ready-to-build (RTB) status to enter construction in 2022. It has the 16 MW Pukenui Solar Farm under construction since July 2021.

"We are excited to reach this stage of development after assessing all possible sites and preparing for our solar PV build-out with FNSF," said Aquila Capital Asia Pacific CEO Alexander Lenz. Aquila Capital recently announced a renewable energy joint venture in South Korea with TopInfra (see Renewable Energy JV For South Korea).

Renewable energy investors are flocking to New Zealand as the country aims for net zero emissions target achievement by 2050. In April 2022, Britain's Lightsource BP ventured into the country under a JV with Contact Energy (see Lightsource BP Launches Solar JV For New Zealand).