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Lightsource bp has finalized financing for the 171MWdc Glorit solar farm north of Auckland, New Zealand. Construction of this large-scale photovoltaic facility is about to commence, with electricity generation slated to begin in the latter half of 2028.
The project is being advanced through Glorit Solar P LP, an equally owned venture between Lightsource bp and Contact Energy. It will link to Transpower’s 220kV grid via a 1.5km dedicated line from the site. The installation will be designed to accommodate a 200MWh DC-coupled battery system for storing and releasing solar power as grid conditions dictate, although the exact storage capacity has not been made public.
Contact Energy’s February 2026 equity offering documents indicated the Glorit project would cost NZ$305 million, with over 70% of that funded through project financing. The solar plant is located on the Kaipara Coast in Glorit, north of Kaukapakapa within the Auckland region. Its purpose is to boost electricity generation in the upper North Island, an area that has experienced power shortages when hydro storage is low.
Reaching financial close followed an extended consent and legal process. The Environmental Protection Authority granted resource consent in October 2025 after a 150-working-day review under fast-track legislation. That decision was later contested by Forest and Bird, which filed a High Court appeal in November 2025 over concerns about the endangered tara iti, or New Zealand fairy tern, arguing that the consent did not adequately safeguard its habitat and flight paths. The conclusion of that legal challenge and the fulfillment of planning conditions have now enabled the financial close.
This marks the second time the Lightsource bp and Contact Energy joint venture has achieved financial close in New Zealand. The 168MWdc Kowhai Park solar farm at Christchurch Airport reached that milestone in August 2024, supported by a NZ$267 million green financing package from Westpac, Mizuho, China Construction Bank, and Intesa Sanpaolo. Module installation at Kowhai Park is complete, and the facility is approaching energization, with commercial operations anticipated later this year. Together, the two projects add roughly 339MWdc of new solar capacity from the joint venture’s pipeline.
The Glorit financial close comes as New Zealand’s utility-scale solar pipeline advances across multiple developers. Lodestone Energy has started building a 31.5MWdc solar plant at Ruataniwha Plains in Central Hawkes Bay, the area’s first large-scale solar project. Meanwhile, Meridian Energy obtained consent in May 2026 for a 120MW solar facility at Bunnythorpe in Palmerston North, which also includes battery storage.
New Zealand’s electricity market offers a strong business case for new solar. A prolonged dry spell in 2024 depleted hydro reserves and sharply raised wholesale power prices, highlighting the vulnerability of a generation mix heavily reliant on weather-dependent hydro. To address this and position the country as the simplest developed nation for solar deployment, the government ordered a review of residential and small-to-medium-scale solar installations, aiming to cut what it calls a red tape nightmare that can stall approvals for months.
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