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Meridian Energy has obtained consent to construct a 120MW solar photovoltaic project that will be co-located with a previously approved battery energy storage system, according to a report by PV Tech published on May 16, 2026. The facility, named the Bunnythorpe Solar Farm, will occupy a 280-hectare site in the Manawatu region of New Zealand’s North Island. The project is designed to deploy approximately 250,000 solar modules and is expected to produce around 225GWh of electricity each year.
Meridian Energy stated that the Bunnythorpe development is part of a NZ$3 billion (US$1.7 billion) investment program the utility plans to make through 2030 to build new renewable energy capacity across New Zealand. This will be Meridian Energy’s second solar PV plant in the country, following the 130MW Ruakaka Energy Park, which started construction in October 2025. The company is also advancing a 400MW site on the North Island through a joint venture with Wellington-based Nova Energy, with construction on that project having begun earlier this month.
Guy Waipara, Meridian’s general manager of development, noted that solar energy is becoming an increasingly important part of New Zealand’s electricity generation mix. In October 2024, the New Zealand government introduced legislation to fast-track ten utility-scale solar projects across the country, including several multi-hundred MW sites. Since that bill was introduced, the country’s utility-scale solar sector has seen heightened activity. In addition to Meridian Energy’s projects, Genesis Energy has broken ground on a 136MWp project in Edgecumbe, Bay of Plenty; Foresight Group has acquired a 300MW solar-plus-storage platform, marking its first sector investment in New Zealand; and Contact Energy has raised US$316 million to develop large-scale solar and other renewable energy initiatives.
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