NZ's biggest solar farm to be built

[The BDI]

apparently a bit of noxious by-product in much of the componentry, especially from the batteries
lithium etc is mined, mines bad.
might also be the odd third world underaged underpaid pseudo slaves employed in the process as well.

bit like chocolate and coffee
we just want a nice hot bevvie, a caffeine buzz, or a little smackerel of something sweet by way of mr whittaker
a little harmless self frottage in an otherwise pedestrian existence., without depriving half the third worlds children
their education and childhood.

its ironic. the angst of those proponents of solar energy, that the toxicity of the by-product is as vile as petrochem products they loathe.

Those seeking "solutions" so often cling to something that sounds good when they don't know enough to see that the underlying technology isn't really going to achieve what's required. Solar is great on the roof of our camper, until one panel failed and started drawing instead of charging (which is what has happened recently, and will be fixed by replacing it). People using solar for individual houses/businesses seem to have mixed success. I really can't see that using up a huge space of productive land to only provide the equivalent power as needed for 100,000 homes is really efficient. And what about when climate change means we have more cloud and the solar power we can utilise now is reduced (something else we have experienced with our camper)? Examples of small scale experiences probably extrapolate to large scale problems in the wider world. Is the proposed solar farm just pandering to fashion and setting up a white elephant that will make money for Todd when it is sold, for someone else to have to deal with the long term problems?

We have a lot of sea around us, with rise and fall twice daily. Other countries are well on the way with exploring how to best utilise it, although, as with everything, environmental impacts are a serious concern. Maybe NZ could join the real world by looking in that direction.

Yes, I've seen large acreages covered in them in Eastern Europe.. viable flat farmland as far as I could tell.  Should not be put on viable flat farmland unless at a suitable height that allows grazing.

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A few points you've made are invalid and need correction.

Large scale solar installations can be done in conjunction with crops so that land is far from unusable. More information on Agrivoltaics here:



Another option is to site PV over non-productive land or other areas such as over water such as canals or wastewater ponds. The shading resulting from doing so provides benefits in reducing evaporation from potable water sources.

In regards to battery storage here in New Zealand we already have enormous storage potential by way of our hydro lakes. Daytime PV generation offsets hydro generation during that time which is in effect a storage method. And of course the pumped hydro scheme being proposed for Lake Onslow is a more ambitious approach for offsetting generation scheduling. Lower winter sunshine levels are thereby also offset by rainfall capture during that period. The real issue in New Zealand however is the split generation/transmission model instigated by the Bradford reforms which works against smaller competing generators penetrating the existing market due to advantages enjoyed by the encumants. That's why we're seeing the likes of Todd and NZ Refining being those with the economic clout to take on the big power co's.

While wind turbines' noise output is relatively low in volume the low frequencies are problematic in terms of psychological effects on nearby properties so isolated locations are required. Smaller horizontal axis (propeller style) such as those for individual properties can generate significant volumes (think Cessna on take off) so council consents are an issue. Also wind turbines, big or small, like wave or tidal generating systems have plenty of moving parts and operate in challenging environments so maintenance of them is a major consideration. Fixed PV panels are very low maintenance in comparison.

Domestic sized PV installations require good design to be economically viable as their economic viability is far more precarious than for utility scale installations. We have recently completed a 5kW PV installation on our property that cost us $14K with a ~10 year payback period. That installation uses our hot water cylinder as storage via a Paladin 'power diverter' for excess generation, rather than exporting to the grid, and provides most charging for our Nissan Leaf EV, and a planned second EV which will further improve the PV's investment value and ROI. Also owning an EV or two made the economies of including battery storage non-viable as our vehicles are essentially batteries on wheels.

We had a similar sized PV installation at our previous property so had plenty of prior experience going into this one and were disappointed with much of the poor advice we received from potential installers so I'm well aware that there will be plenty of poor PV choices being made and it would be advisable to shop wisely if you're considering investing in home solar. Keep an eye out for a coming blog on our website detailing our solar venture for more information in that regard.

Well that looks great - is that what they plan for here?

Why are we not using our hydro potential to the fullest I wonder?