Calder Stewart says it plans to invest more than $110 million in rooftop solar and battery storage across its industrial property portfolio over the next decade, creating what the company says could become one of New Zealand’s largest distributed energy networks.
The programme is expected to see up to 170,000 solar panels installed across industrial rooftops, delivering up to 85MW of solar generation capacity.
Calder Stewart owns more than 900 hectares of zoned industrial land across Auckland, Canterbury, Otago and Southland. Through Calder Stewart Energy, the company has already installed solar systems across 17 industrial sites, covering more than 152,000m² of roof space.
Sam Stewart, director of Calder Stewart, says wider adoption of rooftop solar across industrial property could reduce transmission-related costs while easing pressure on the national electricity network.
“If your meter says you have used 100 kilowatt hours, you may actually pay for 105 because of the losses across the network. By generating power above where it is used, we can take pressure off the lines network and reduce the cost of moving electricity across the system,” he says.
Stewart says solar will become standard in new industrial developments, while many existing buildings are expected to be retrofitted over the coming year.
“Every percentage point matters when businesses are operating in competitive markets.
“If we can help reduce one of the core operating costs for industrial occupiers, that ultimately supports lower-cost production, stronger margins and a more competitive export sector.”
Battery storage will be progressively added to the network.