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The downed Transpower pylon at Glorit, north of Auckland, cut electricity to 88,000 Northlanders.
Northland has long been touted as a renewable energy hotspot, but despite solar farms and now wind power, a lack of infrastructure is holding back the switch.
The region’s growing renewable energy market and challenges are laid bare in an economic report from Northland Regional Council economist Darryl Jones and economic advisor Codie McIntyre.
It paints a picture of scope to expand renewable energy resources so that Northland can generate all its energy from renewable sources and export excess power to Auckland.
But poor power infrastructure was holding back the renewable revolution, Jones said.
A Northland Corporate Group survey by NZEIR last year found the region generated around 540 gigawatt hours (GWh, equal to one billion watt-hours) of renewable power annually, but could expand.
Northland uses about 1200GWh of electricity a year, with over half the region’s power imported from the national grid.
The Ngāwhā geothermal plant is the region’s largest generator, at 450GWh a year. Others include the Kohirā Solar Farm in Kaitāia (about 55GWh a year) and Te Puna Mauri ō Omaru Solar Farm in Ruawai (about 40GWh annually).
There is a pipeline of renewable generation projects in Northland over the next two years. These will have about 400MW, producing about 1.5 terawatt-hours (TWh, equal to 1 trillion watt-hours) a year, enough to make the region an electricity exporter.
Data from the Electricity Authority shows solar generation reached a national record of 128MW in March. Just a few weeks earlier, solar generation exceeded thermal generation for the first time, and Northland has played a leading role.
“Kohirā Solar Farm in Kaitāia, commissioned in 2023-24 as New Zealand’s first utility-scale, grid-connected solar farm, now generates about 55GWh each year. It kicked off a new investment cycle in the region,” Jones said.
“That momentum is growing with Meridian Energy’s major development in Ruakākā. This is Meridian’s first grid-scale solar project and will span 201ha, producing up to 230GWh a year once complete. It sits beside the 100MW Ruakākā Battery Energy Storage System.
“Together, these form one of New Zealand’s most advanced hybrid energy sites and strengthen Northland’s position as a leader in a clean energy transition.”
Across the country, 293 proposed generation projects have a combined 44.3GW capacity.
“National growth matters locally,” Jones said. “In Northland, private investment in new green generation is not only a climate response, but also part of a wider long-term economic strategy to lift resilience, attract industry, and anchor longer-term growth.
“Building on this private investment momentum, Northland is pairing its solar strengths with new utility-scale wind generation. Mercury’s first large-scale wind project in the region – the Kaiwaikawe Wind Farm – is taking shape near Dargaville.”
Mercury is spending $287m installing 12 206m-tall turbines, the tallest structures in the country after the Sky Tower, producing 77MW – expected to power roughly 27,000 homes.
Jones said Kaiwaikawe boosted grid resilience because Kaipara’s winds behaved differently from those in Manawatū and Southland, supporting national supply when weather conditions diverged. Its proximity to Auckland helped to reduce transmission losses.
Private capital could only scale as far as the grid allowed, he said.
Northland’s transmission constraints have been under scrutiny since the June 2024 Glorit tower failure that cut power to about 88,000 – a clear reminder of how maintenance or faults can compromise reliability.
“That event sharpened attention on grid risk and highlighted why clear, timely connection pathways matter for new generation and energy-intensive industries looking at Northland.
“In the Far North, the export path back to Whangārei is effectively at capacity. New generation cannot be approved without network upgrades or run-back schemes paid for by connecting parties,” Jones said.
Transpower, Northpower and Top Energy are advancing the Energy Bridge concept to address reliability issues and support future growth. It is designed to connect Northland’s wind, solar and geothermal resources, and could allow surplus power to be exported south when generation exceeds local demand.
The Energy Bridge builds on earlier Renewable Energy Zone work and shifts it into an infrastructure plan that lowers per-project connection costs and reduces risk for developers.
“The need is clear. In the Far North, Top Energy’s Kaikohe-Kaitāia 110 kV line is fully allocated, and Transpower’s Kaikohe–Maungatapere 110 kV line is constrained. In practice, this caps new Far North generation projects until more capacity is built.”
In April 2025, the Government committed $2 million from the Regional Infrastructure Fund for MBIE to lead a feasibility and economic assessment of the Northern Energy Bridge.
Jones said proceeding with the Energy Bridge, strengthening the Kaikohe-Maungatapere spine and relieving the Far North constraints, would unlock new solar, wind and geothermal projects.
This would see fewer outage risks, room for new projects, a stronger investment proposition for electrified industry and better conditions for long-term economic growth.
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