This article originally appeared in NZBusiness.
Lodestone Energy, led by founder Gary Holden, was established in 2019. Lodestone aims to supply 3-5% of the nation’s electricity market with new renewable solar energy in the next five years.
In 2024, Lodestone achieved a New Zealand first. It commissioned the country’s first utility-scale solar farms to bid into the electricity market in Kaitaia and Edgecumbe. Since then, a third solar farm has started generating in the Bay of Plenty. A fourth is under construction in the Coromandel, due for completion by the end of this year. More are planned.
The new solar farms employ locals during the construction phase and boosting the local supply of clean energy to areas that otherwise depend on distant power generation sources.
Lodestone sells the energy to commercial and industrial customers that commit to long-term supply agreements. The upside of adopting this ‘Virtual Rooftop’ approach includes long term price certainty, the ability to mitigate Scope 2 emissions, as well as the sustainability credentials associated to procuring renewable energy.
Harnessing solar potential
Like a lot of the best things, Lodestone was, in many ways, an idea waiting to happen. But it took someone like Gary, with a deep understanding of the energy market, to spot when the time was right.
Gary has had a long and varied career in the New Zealand energy sector. He actively contributed to the establishment of the New Zealand Electricity Market in the mid 90’s. He’s been involved in developing Aotearoa New Zealand’s first two independent energy plants, and, most recently, was the CEO of energy retailer Pulse Energy.
Through these roles, Gary developed a unique insight into the trajectory of New Zealand’s energy market and the opportunity presented by low-cost renewables. The rollout of smart meters in the decade following 2010 has provided valuable data on where and when energy is being used. New Zealand’s deregulated market has enabled independent operators to develop, innovate and compete. As the world turns to electrification, electricity demand is forecast to surge while the cost of photovoltaic (PV) solar technology trends down.
Observing the interplay of these market variables, Gary foresaw that by 2018 solar electricity generation could start competing with grid power for commercial and industrial customers.
Then the real work started.
“Our initial challenge was to find suitable sites within identified sunbelts, where wholesale prices were high (indicating a supply shortage), and there was interconnection capacity within the network. We then had to match that with customer contracts scattered all over the country,” says Gary.
A carefully modelled business plan attracted more than $600 million in investment, and Lodestone evolved to become a trailblazer of grid-scale solar generation in New Zealand.
Ethically building solar farms
An important part of Lodestone’s story has been its approach to the design and build of its solar infrastructure.
“We work very closely with local Iwi and community stakeholders to ensure they are involved and informed every step of the way. ,” explains Gary.
The ‘agrivoltaics design sets up the solar panels two metres above the ground and separates the arrays in wide rows. This ensures that the land can continue to be used for agricultural purposes. Lodestone currently grazes 700+ sheep at its Kaitaia farm and plans to also graze its two Bay of Plenty farms.
Having installed more than 245,000 photovoltaic panels so far, selecting the right panel provider was a critical business decision. A thorough assessment of the international solar market led Lodestone to partner with Trina Solar.
Gary noted: “They had the scale and quality we needed. They offered a product with significantly lower embodied carbon than other market equivalents, and their stringent sourcing practices assured us they were actively managing any modern slavery risks in their supply chain.”
Looking forward
The energy from the company’s fourth farm, though still under construction, has been sold. With six more projects consented and in various stages of planning, the team of 25 are keeping busy.
“Unlike other countries, New Zealand benefits from a free and open electricity market, which is critical to attracting investment,” says Gary. “If you want to build and fund a generation project, then you are quite free to do that - as long as you comply with the consenting process. New Zealand has a pipeline of renewable energy projects totalling nearly three times its total installed capacity. While there are a few issues to be ironed out in peak demand management, it indicates the market is working.”
New Zealand’s plentiful hydropower is complementary to solar and wind generation, as it can be used as a ‘battery’ to provide electricity when there are cloudy days or no wind. As we build out more renewable generation, we will look to other technologies to help manage peak demand and intermittent generation periods.
“Battery storage is going to be a big part of this market and our future,” says Gary. “If we do that well, we can support residential customers who use a considerable amount of electricity in the evening period.”
Gary is convinced these technologies, combined with existing renewable electricity generation, could provide nearly all of the nation’s electricity in years to come.
“I see it going to at least notionally 100% renewable,” says Gary. “We’ll probably still pay to have some backup thermal in dry years, where extreme conditions occur, or if the right batteries take too long to come through. We’ll probably have 100% renewable electricity generation on average, with a bit of insurance.”
With no singular silver bullet to New Zealand’s energy challenges, harnessing our free and abundant solar resources will certainly play a key role in building a low-emission energy future.