Kōwhai Park solar farm reaches ‘Golden Row’ milestone

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Construction of one of New Zealand’s largest solar projects has reached a major milestone, with the installation of the first row of solar panels – known in the industry as the ‘Golden Row’ – now complete at Kōwhai Park solar farm.

Here at Christchurch Airport, we’re committed to helping grow the prosperity and wellbeing of Ōtautahi Christchurch. Part of this is enabling New Zealand’s low carbon future and the solar farm at Kōwhai Park brings our vision to life, using airport land in new ways to support a low-emissions future for our region. We’re excited to hit this ‘golden row’ milestone, which marks another step towards a cleaner energy future, and reflects the strength of the partnership between Christchurch Airport, Lightsource, bp and Contact Energy.

The solar farm is being constructed on a 230-hectare site at the airport, aligning with the airport’s broader ambitions to enable a renewable energy precinct and support New Zealand’s decarbonisation goals.

Installation of the first panels marks an important moment in the delivery of the 168MWdc solar farm, as the Golden Row milestone represents both the full installation and quality assurance of the first row of solar panels.

With the process now validated and signed off, construction can safely and efficiently scale up – repeating this process thousands of times across the site. Once complete, the solar farm will generate enough renewable electricity to power the equivalent of more than 36,000 homes.

Kōwhai Park reflects the shared commitment of all three partners to enable a more sustainable future for New Zealand and help accelerate the energy transition.

Engagement with the local community and wider stakeholders remains a priority as the project progresses, with a focus on ensuring the development delivers lasting economic and environmental value for the region.