| 13 T T Rosa Watson Solar farms meeting increased energy demand Lightyears Solar co-founder and director Matt Shanks. Lightyears Solar: Ashburton Solar Farm REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT A newly constructed solar farm near Ashburton is showcasing how energy production and agriculture can work in harmony. The farm, developed by Lightyears Solar using local contractors in its construction, is a community-scale project with a generation capacity of 7 MW, covering about eight hectares of a 16-hectare rural lifestyle farm located south of Ashburton. In line with Lightyears’ agrivoltaic approach, the panels are elevated and mounted on sun-tracking frames, allowing livestock, in this case sheep, to graze underneath while maintaining efficient solar energy capture. Farming is able to continue on the site, supplementing landowner income and preserving agricultural productivity, Lightyears Solar co-founder and director Matt Shanks says. Lightyears owns and operates 1 MW, while the remaining share is owned by private company RCR Green. The farm connects to the local Ashburton power network, EA Networks. Construction of the farm provided a boost to the local economy, with a number of local businesses engaged, Matt says. The two combined farms at the site produce approximately 7.2 MW, enough to power around 1800 homes annually, boosting the share of renewable energy locally and ensuring most energy is consumed within the Ashburton community. Lightyears Solar was formed in 2019 when Matt and school friend, Sean Tobin, identified an untapped space for solar energy production in New Zealand. Countries around the world already have advanced solar production, and Matt himself has worked on projects in the Pacific Islands and in Southeast Asia. “We’re actually the last country in the OECD to deploy solar at scale. It’s well-deployed overseas,” says Matt. “We looked at the cost and thought it could work in New Zealand. It’s very mature technology worldwide and we are really just at the start of deploying it in New Zealand.” He says solar farms provide resilience to communities in terms of energy supply. “It could be a future where we end up with communities like Ashburton completely self-sufficient in terms of electricity supply.” In a phenomenon unique to Mid-Canterbury, energy use increases over the summer months due to irrigation use, which fits in perfectly with solar production, Matt says. “They use a high amount of energy over summer, which is exactly when the solar farm is producing the most energy.” Today, Lightyears has a team of 17 staff and has commissioned five solar farms across the country, usually on five to 15 acres, with more under construction. Matt says they receive phone calls every week from landowners enquiring about whether their property would be a suitable site. “It tends to be farmers contacting us looking for more productive land use.” He says solar farms will be key to meeting the country’s future energy demand. “The energy demand of the country is growing as we continue to electrify transport and electrify boilers for industry.” Residential homes are also driving demand, moving more towards electric heating. Matt says solar farms have little impact on the landscape, as they able to be screened out by planting. “Most people won’t know there’s even one there.” It brings huge benefits to the landowners, offering farmers a new and stable revenue stream, while preserving the land’s agricultural value and bringing value to the local community, delivering reliable, clean energy to communities that often experience energy poverty or unreliable grid access, and providing employment during construction. The company’s work has been recognised with a number of awards this year. It picked up the Utility Scale Solar Trailblazer Award and was also joint winner of the Best Medium Business at this year’s SEANZ Aotearoa Industry Awards. It was also named as a finalist in the Social Procurement category at this year’s Energy Excellence Awards, and in the Infrastructure Decarbonisation category of the Building Nations 2025 Impact Awards. “We’re actually the last country in the OECD to deploy solar at scale.” Brendon Sloane Owner/Operator 027 290 8729 sloaneexcavation@outlook.co.nz | follow us on Sloane Excavation TURN SUNSHINE INTO SAVINGS! We’re proud to have worked alongside Lightyears Solar to bring Mid Canterbury’s solar farms to life. We’re here for all your solar needs, big or small! Get in touch today: 03 308 2106 726 East Street, Ashburton ashburton@levelelectrical.nz www.mckay.co.nz | 0800 462 529 New Zealand’s largest privately owned electrical company. McKay is proud to have delivered the electrical construction and commissioning of the Ashburton Solar Farm. Photo: Rebecca Kempton Photography
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