Helios Welcomes Resource Consents for Ongaonga and Māniatoto Plain Solar Projects

Helios Energy Limited, an Aotearoa New Zealand grid-scale solar developer, has secured resource consent for two of its solar energy projects, following the close of their respective appeal periods.

The projects comprise a 100-megawatt (MWac) solar farm at Taylor Road, Ongaonga in the North Island, and a 300MWac solar farm on Ranfurly-Naseby Road, Māniatoto Plain in the South Island.

Helios Energy Co-Founder and Managing Director Jeff Schlichting said the consents mark a significant milestone for the company, taking its total consented projects under development to more than 500MWac.

“These consent approvals represent three years of detailed planning and engagement with local communities and stakeholders,” Mr Schlichting said.

“Both solar farms have been carefully designed to integrate with their rural settings, allowing continued sheep grazing and incorporating extensive new native planting to help screen the solar farm within the landscape.”

The consents were approved at the District Council level, following comprehensive assessments and consultation with mana whenua, Councils, the Department of Conservation, Fire and Emergency New Zealand, and other key agencies. Both consents were publicly notified and subsequently vetted through public hearing processes.

Ongaonga Solar Project

The Ongaonga Solar Project site was identified by Helios in late 2022 as one of the most favourable large-scale solar locations in New Zealand. The site benefits from a strong solar resource and a technically advantageous connection to Transpower’s nearby Waipawa substation.

Site boundaries were carefully defined to ensure appropriate setbacks from residential dwellings and local roads, and to exclude the most productive grazing land adjacent to the Tukituki River, which will remain in pastoral use for cattle grazing.

The Ongaonga Solar Farm represents an estimated $150 million investment in the Central Hawke’s Bay region.

Māniatoto Solar Project

Located on 660 hectares of unirrigated working farmland, the Māniatoto Solar Farm will connect to the existing Transpower-owned Naseby substation.

Through the hearing process, Commissioners determined that the solar project could proceed while preserving the area’s landscape, ecological, and rural amenity values.

Throughout the development process, Helios has listened carefully to community feedback and made a number of changes to the proposal. Mr Schlichting notes:

“Well located grid-scale solar projects like the Māniatoto project are essential if Aotearoa New Zealand is to meet our national decarbonisation commitments and power a resilient, low-carbon economy”.

The Māniatoto Solar Farm represents an estimated $450 million investment in the Otago region.

Helios Energy Approach to Development

Helios will now work through the pre-construction phase, including procurement, advanced engineering and technical design with its construction partners.

There will be ongoing engagement with local service providers to supply materials and services such as fencing, planting, quarrying, and accommodation during construction. Locally based specialist subcontractors will also be engaged to operate and maintain the solar farms and surrounding land over their 35-year operational life.

In line with its commitment to long-term community partnerships, Helios will establish a local partnership trust for each solar project. These trusts will provide annual funding for initiatives that deliver enduring community benefits, such as supporting environmental sustainability, education and training opportunities, energy hardship relief, and local community support.

In addition to these two projects, Helios’ development portfolio includes the 110MWac solar farm at Karioi, Ruapehu District (granted consent in early 2025) and the 300MWac Grampians solar farm (accepted into the Fast Track Approvals process in early 2025). Helios also developed the 114MWac Edgecumbe solar farm which was sold to Genesis Energy in 2024.

ENDS