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Hawkes Bay Airport has initiated an Expression of Interest (EOI) process to identify partners for construction and co-investment in a planned 12-17MW solar photovoltaic facility on its property in New Zealand. The installation is slated for a 24-hectare parcel northwest of the runways, catering to the Napier and Hastings area on the country’s North Island.
Chief executive Nick Flack noted that the venture would lay the groundwork for an aviation industry anticipated to depend significantly more on renewable electricity by 2050, with demand possibly reaching 20 times present figures. This EOI phase comes after a more ambitious earlier plan: the airport had previously considered a 45MW solar project alongside Manawa Energy, later acquired by Contact Energy, but both sides agreed to reduce the scope to better match the airport’s enduring needs.
A final investment decision on the reduced project remains pending, with feasibility assessments proceeding in parallel with permitting, engineering, and cultural and community consultations over the coming year. Flack indicated that this stage aims to test market interest in construction, maintenance, and possible co-ownership models prior to determining the asset’s ownership structure.
Airports embracing on-site renewable generation and storage is a growing trend across Australia and New Zealand. In Australia, CleanPeak Energy has entered a 15-year contract to provide Western Sydney International Airport with fully renewable power, integrating a 9MWp rooftop solar array with 30MW/120MWh of battery storage before the airport’s scheduled opening in late 2026. In contrast to Hawkes Bay’s ground-based approach, CleanPeak will own the infrastructure and sell electricity to the airport via a long-term energy services deal, shielding the airport operator from initial capital outlays.
Hawkes Bay’s initiative is part of wider solar momentum in the region. Lodestone Energy and Centralines commenced work in July 2026 on the 31.5MWp Central Hawkes Bay solar farm, a joint venture with the local lines company, aiming for commercial startup by autumn 2027. To the north in the Bay of Plenty, Aquila Clean Energy has switched on its 38MW solar facility, contributing to a rapidly growing utility-scale pipeline that emerged after New Zealand’s 2024 energy crisis, where low hydro reserves and falling gas supplies highlighted vulnerabilities in the nation’s heavy dependence on hydropower.
This growth aligns with governmental efforts to reduce regulatory hurdles impeding smaller solar installations. The Ministry for Regulation has issued a review concluding that the process for residential and small-to-medium solar setups is overly complex, pointing to inconsistent council rules, distributor approval timelines varying from minutes to four months, and a solar adoption rate of just 3-4% among households versus over 30% in Australia. Although the review focused on small-scale systems rather than large projects like Hawkes Bay’s, it underscores broader support for solar expansion across both distributed and utility-scale sectors as New Zealand seeks to diversify its historically hydro-centric power generation.
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