New Zealand dairy co-operative Fonterra will purchase electricity generated by NZ Clean Energy’s Darfield Solar and Energy Storage Project, in a deal that represents one the country’s first large-scale solar PPAs between a major industrial energy user and an independent renewable energy developer.
The Darfield Solar and Energy Storage Project is a 129MW development located near Fonterra’s Darfield manufacturing site in Canterbury and is designed to generate approximately 218GWh of renewable electricity annually.
The PPA will provide the dairy co-operative with flexible, cost-effective access to renewable electricity and help manage electricity price risk at its Darfield site and other manufacturing operations in the region.
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The solar project has been designed to enable continued sheep grazing across the project site, preserving the land’s agricultural character and reflecting NZCE’s commitment to responsible, low-impact renewable energy development.
Fonterra is investing in new capital projects to transition away from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources as part of its broader decarbonisation strategy.
Fonterra COO Anna Palairet said, “We’re committed to creating a more sustainable future and have a role to play in supporting new renewable energy supply in New Zealand. Solar is a good fit for our operations, with generation aligning well to the peak of the milk season. This agreement helps bring new generation to market while at the same time giving us long-term price certainty.”
For NZCE, the Darfield project represents more than a single development—it establishes a framework the company intends to replicate across its growing portfolio of renewable energy projects throughout New Zealand.
By partnering directly with large energy users through long-term PPAs, NZCE is developing a model that provides the contractual certainty needed to finance and build new renewable generation, while offering corporate electricity users a credible, competitively priced pathway to meeting their own sustainability goals.
NZCE sees agreements of this kind as central to unlocking private investment in New Zealand’s renewable energy infrastructure—reducing reliance on the spot market, accelerating project delivery, and deepening the relationship between developers and the industries they power.
Fonterra, with its significant energy demand across multiple South Island sites, is an ideal long-term partner through which to develop and mature this model.
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NZCE CEO Harry Simpson said, “This partnership with Fonterra marks a significant milestone for NZCE and for the broader New Zealand renewable energy sector.
“Long-term agreements of this kind are exactly what’s needed to unlock investment in new renewable generation—they give developers the certainty to build and give industrial customers a credible, cost-effective path to sourcing renewable energy. Fonterra has shown real leadership in pursuing that, and we’re proud to be their partner in delivering it.”
