Tompkins Wake advises Far North Solar Farm on major solar development project

Wednesday 4 September, 2024

Tompkins Wake has played a pivotal role in advising utility-scale solar developer Far North Solar Farm Limited (FNSF) on a series of solar development projects, that are set to produce the equivalent of approximately 15% of New Zealand's current daytime electricity.

Following a $78 million deal signed on Tuesday, 27 August with Crown-owned New Zealand Green Investment Finance (NZGIF) at Parliament, FNSF will use the facility to connect five of its sites to the national grid. The agreement also includes broader development activities required for FNSF’s national solar development portfolio.

Once complete, FNSF’s current portfolio of 11 solar sites will have the capacity to generate up to 1.5 Gigawatts of new, clean electricity, allowing more power from hydro lakes to be held in reserve and used for evening peak demand.

FNSF director Richard Homewood says the ability to access financing within New Zealand to advance solar developments is an endorsement of the need to develop more renewables.

“Generating more renewable energy is the future of the electricity market in New Zealand and developing new capacity to help enable this is something that we’re proud to be involved in,” Richard says.

Tompkins Wake has been working alongside FNSF to develop the company’s portfolio of projects since its establishment in 2019. Led by corporate partner, Michael Shanahan, Tompkins Wake has assembled a team of experts, including Theresa Le Bas, Tom Price, Campbell Stewart, Briar Shaw and Jacinda May, to deliver specialist legal services across various disciplines.

Michael Shanahan says that NZGIF’s commitment to funding the grid connection infrastructure for FNSF’s portfolio will allow them to rapidly progress the rollout of much-needed renewable generation capacity, playing an important role in securing New Zealand’s sustainable renewable energy infrastructure into the future.

"NZGIF’s commitment to support Far North comes at a challenging time in New Zealand’s energy market and underpins New Zealand’s commitment to maintaining its position as a global leader in renewable energy generation. It is both exciting and a privilege to be a part of this journey along with all those that have been involved to date,” Michael says.

The deal is the latest link in a chain of transactions resulting from approximately five years of legal work. This includes creating a portfolio of land use arrangements for sites spanning the length and breadth of New Zealand, sourcing a suitable investment partner from a short-list of New Zealand and overseas parties, the negotiation of joint venture documents for governance and project financing, and navigation of a range of novel and complex Overseas Investment Act issues.

National grid operator Transpower says its grid-connection agreement with FNSF, which includes a new substation, is the first of many around the country in the shift to electrifying the economy.

“The signing of this agreement is a positive milestone for New Zealand’s energy future. Transpower has a significant pipeline of other generation projects that want to connect to the national grid which are critical both for security of supply and the decarbonisation of our economy,” Executive General Manager Customer and External Affairs Raewyn Moss says.“The ability for a developer to access capital is another critical element of getting renewable energy developments off the ground and NZGIF can play a key role in that going forward. We look forward to working with FNSF on this project,” Raewyn says.