Centralines selects Lodestone as Joint Venture Partner for new Ongaonga Solar Farm
Onsite at the solar farm site, left to right - Centralines Board member Len Gould; Centralines Chair Fenton Wilson; Lodestone Energy Managing Director Gary Holden; Central Hawke's Bay Consumers Power Trust Trustee Karen Middelberg; Unison Group General Manager Customer, Commercial & Regulatory Jason Larkin; Centralines Business Development Manager Stuart Smith.
Centralines is pleased to announce the selection of Lodestone Energy to partner in the development of the recently announced solar farm in Ongaonga. This partnership represents a significant step forward in Centralines' commitment to renewable energy and sustainable development in the region.
Centralines has secured $8 million in funding from the Government’s Regional Infrastructure Fund (RIF) to contribute to the solar farm development, which will deliver local generation, improved energy resilience, and economic benefits to Central Hawke’s Bay.
Gary Holden, Managing Director of Lodestone, shared: “It’s a great honour to be selected as Centralines’ solar partner. We’ve been impressed with how Centralines have put the Ongaonga project together: it has expandable scale, adds value to the land proposition and will deliver value to the region for decades to come.”
Lodestone owns and operates three agrivoltaic solar farms across Aotearoa, with a fourth in Whitianga nearing completion. These sites support sheep grazing, preserving land productivity while benefitting from shade and shelter beneath the panels.
To extend its portfolio to the South Island, Lodestone recently announced that its fifth farm, in South Canterbury, will begin construction this year.
“This partnership represents an exciting opportunity supporting Lodestone’s vision of ‘a solar farm in every community’. We see huge potential in joint ventures of this nature, accelerating the delivery of renewable energy across the country. We look forward to getting stuck into the next phase and bringing this project to fruition,” said Mr Holden.
Fenton Wilson, Chair of Centralines, added: "We are thrilled to partner with Lodestone on this solar farm project. Lodestone brings their proven expertise in the development and operation of utility-scale solar farms to this project.
“The solar farm will generate approximately 52 gigawatt-hours annually and create a source of renewable energy for use in Central Hawke’s Bay providing power to the equivalent of 9,000 electricity connections. At peak generation, the farm will power the entire district while still exporting excess to the national grid.”
“This venture marks a significant milestone in our journey towards a sustainable future, and Centralines looks forward to the positive impact it will have on the community and the environment,” said Mr Wilson.
The solar farm will connect directly into the Centralines’ electricity network via a new Ruataniwha 33kV switchroom, located next to Transpower’s Waipawa grid exit point.
By introducing local generation, the solar farm is expected to attract more electricity retailers to the region – boosting competition and improving options for households and businesses.
In addition to its energy benefits, the project will provide a significant employment boost, with up to 80 jobs created during construction, including approximately 30 high-skilled roles.
Construction is planned to begin in December 2025, with the build expected to take approximately 12 months.