NZ's biggest solar farm to be built

[Magoo]

I guess the other consideration is, if in fact usage is declining and continues to do so, there is greater use of in home systems, tiwai point smelter goneburger...  is there any point in adding more generation capacity?

In that regard I can't understand why our government isn't incentivising installation of domestic PV installations. It makes so much sense when combined with home charging of electric vehicles both in terms of relieving burden on the national grid and also in reducing people's power bills.

And in reply to those who are advocating hydro but dismissing utility scale solar generation the area of potentially productive land required by solar farms is minor compared to that which a hydro lake floods, and the carbon input required by concrete structures such as hydro dams and their construction is massive and would take decades to offset by their generation capacity.

i certainly wouldnt dismiss solar, seems like the direction we are headed. its day will come. but nor should we dismiss hydro as inferior. the by product on its worst day wouldnt be anywhere near the other alternatives, including solar.
and just restricting it just solar as an alternative is short sighted when wind farming and tidal flow generation is leaping in technology just as quickly.

the day is coming when our energy will not be generated on the planet itself, but from up there. *points to sky*