Meridian solar farm gets Environment Court nod

12th February 2025 By Staff Reporter | news@propertyticker.co.nz | @propertyticker

Meridian Energy has been granted final consent approval by the Environment Court to build its 120 megawatt Ruakākā Solar Farm in Tai Tokerau Northland.

Initial consent was granted by the Northland Regional Council in September, after which an appeal was received regarding some environmental aspects of the development, which Meridian said had now been resolved.

With up to 250,000 solar panels, the Ruakākā Solar Farm south of Whangārei will be capable of producing up to 200 gigawatt hours of electricity per year – enough to power around half the homes in Northland.

The solar farm, to be completed by early 2027, is stage 2 of Meridian’s Ruakākā Energy Park, which also includes a 100 megawatt battery energy storage system that is expected to be fully operational by April 2025.