Kohirā Solar Farm: Northern sheep harness the power of the sun

The first lamb had just been born when Country life We visited the farm to see how agrophotovoltaics works.

It turned out that apart from the occasional automatic tilting of the 61,000 panels to track the movement of the sun, not much was happening.

Two metres below, the sheep did not flinch when they noticed the slight movement, and the biggest challenge was gathering them early or late when the sheepdogs had difficulty seeing through the boards, which were tilted at their lowest point, Dent said.

He said pastures and sheep growth in the partially shaded pens have not yet been assessed, but at the current stocking rate everything is going well Country life.

“We’re working to establish how many animals the farm can support – we don’t want to get to the point where we have to feed them all.”

Kōhira, which powers the equivalent of 7000 homes on 80ha of flat, former livestock land near Kaitāia, is Lodestone’s first venture into agrivoltaics – grazing livestock or growing crops while also harvesting energy from the sun.

The dual farming system is a developing – if experimental – practice in other countries. Here in New Zealand, agrivoltaics is in its infancy.

For example, there are hundreds of projects in China that combine agriculture with solar energy production, from vegetable greenhouses placed under solar panels in Hainan to shrimp farming under panels bolted to poles attached to the bay floor in Tianjin.

In Europe and North America, there are berry orchards, lettuce fields, and even vineyards under the panels.

Agrivoltaics is believed to have many potential benefits (PDF), including reduced stress on livestock and crops as the panels provide shade and protection, increased productivity, and additional income for farmers amid the ups and downs of weather and commodity prices.

But there are also many unknowns, especially in New Zealand conditions.

Lodestone plans to work with scientists to conduct further tests, for example in horticulture, at its recently launched solar farm at Edgecumbe, according to chief operating officer Richard Pearce.

“Look at how sustainable it is and what types of crops, herbs or fruits, whatever it might be… that can be grown economically.

“It’s a very exciting prospect for agriculture and helping (farmers) get through these more difficult times when that source of income is more consistent.”

Lodestone has a third plant under construction at Waiotahe in the Bay of Plenty and plans to build up to 12 more across the country. Phase two of its rollout will largely involve lease option agreements.

Pearce said Lodestone would be happy to talk to interested farmers.

“A big part of the success of the solar farms (will be) working with the farming community to understand the pros and cons of agrivoltaic operations, and learning together and doing that in a really practical way that we both benefit from.”