The Environment Court has approved Meridian Energy's (NZE:MEL, ASX:MEZ) 120-megawatt Ruakaka solar farm in Northland following an appeal, according to a Monday filing with the Australian and New Zealand bourses.
The solar farm can produce up to 200 gigawatts per hour of electricity per year, enabling it to power around half the homes in Northland, per the filing. It is Stage 2 of Meridian's Ruakaka Energy Park, which also includes a 100-megawatt battery energy storage system that is expected to be fully operational by April 2025, the filing added.
Construction of the solar farm is expected to begin in mid-2025 and be completed by early 2027.
The energy company's Kiwi shares were down past 1% in morning trade.