FRV Australia and Genesis Energy commence operations in New Zealand with acquisition of large-scale solar site

FRV Australia and its joint venture partner, Genesis Energy, have acquired a fully consented, large-scale solar site near Lauriston on the Canterbury Plains that’s expected to be operational next year.
The 52MW project is expected to be the first project of the Joint Venture that will deliver up to 500MW of solar capacity over the next five years.
FRV Australia, 51% owned by Abdul Latif Jameel Energy and 49% by OMERS Infrastructure, has expanded its activities to New Zealand in 2021.

Sydney, 7^th February 2023

FRV Australia is progressing quickly with the expansion of its activities in New Zealand working under a Joint Venture agreement with Genesis, a New Zealand publicly listed electricity generation company and the largest electricity and natural gas retailer in the country.

FRV Australia and Genesis formed a JV in late 2021 to develop up to 500MW of solar capacity over the next five years in New Zealand. This is expected to generate about 750GWh pa – enough to power 100,000 households or 185,000 EVs per year.

Located one hour’s drive from Christchurch, Lauriston solar farm is a planned 52MW project located on a 93-hectare site. Once operational, it will power the equivalent of 9,800 houses. It is expected to create more than 50 jobs during the construction phase and employ up to 3 full-time staff when operational.

Initially developed by the United Kingdom based Hive Energy, Lauriston is fully consented, among the furthest advanced large-scale solar projects sites in the country, and expected begin construction later this year.

FRV Australia and Genesis have worked together during the past year and developed a very promising pipeline of solar projects expected to be delivered in the coming years. Lauriston solar farm is posed to be the first large scale solar farm reaching operational stage in the country.

Carlo Frigerio

FRV Australia CEO

The Lauriston solar farm marks our first and most advanced solar farm in New Zealand, and we are thrilled to contribute to the rapid growth of the country’s solar energy market.

Tarek Alsampaile

FRV Australia Chief Business Development Officer

This is another milestone for our Future-gen strategy that is focused on developing 2,650 GWh of new renewable generation by 2030 as we work hard to displace thermal fuel from our generation portfolio”. She also said, “Solar is a good addition to New Zealand’s generation mix and when it reaches scale it will play an important role in helping manage dry year risk when hydro levels are low and the wind doesn’t blow.

Tracey Hickman

Genesis Interim Chief Executive

FRVs regional expansion further strengthens and deepens Abdul Latif Jameel Energy’s expertise in the solar energy market, building on its already strong pipeline of green energy assets across the globe. It also consolidates OMERS Infrastructure’s leading position in infrastructure and renewable investments across different regions.

The joint venture with Genesis Energy is further evidence of our commitment to entering new markets, while supporting sustainable infrastructure development to provide clean energy to thousands of homes and businesses. On top of this, our acquisition of Lauriston, one of the most advanced solar sites in the country, represents an important milestone in the realization of our vision to develop up to 500MW of solar capacity over the next five years in New Zealand.

Fady Jameel

Deputy President and Vice Chairman of Abdul Latif Jameel

We are proud to support FRV Australia with this first project of the partnership with Genesis in New Zealand. Supporting energy transition remains a priority for OMERS Infrastructure, so we are pleased the joint venture between FRV Australia and Genesis has reached this important milestone.

Christopher Curtain

Senior Managing Director, Asia-Pacific, OMERS Infrastructure