New Zealand's 4.7 MW Gordon Agrivoltaic Project Officially Opens

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On November 12, the Gordon Cattle and Solar Farm photovoltaic project in Galatea, North Island, New Zealand, was officially opened. The project has a photovoltaic installed capacity of 4.7 MW and covers an area of 8 hectares, sharing land with a local dairy farm, where approximately 700 cows can continue grazing beneath the photovoltaic modules. The project uses 625 W TOPCon photovoltaic modules supplied by China's TCL Solar, paired with Clenergy's single-axis tracking mounting system.

Module corrosion resistance was a technical requirement in the project's equipment selection. Because animal manure, manure treatment, and other agricultural activities at the farm may release ammonia, photovoltaic modules exposed to such environments over the long term may suffer corrosion of certain materials and internal components, affecting long-term operational performance. The modules supplied by TCL Solar for this project have undergone ammonia corrosion resistance testing in accordance with the IEC 62716 standard to evaluate the modules' resistance in ammonia-containing environments. Available information does not disclose the specific test duration, sample quantity, or test result values.

The project uses tracking mounts approximately 2.2 meters above ground level, allowing modules to adjust their angle as the sun's position changes, while preserving space beneath the modules for livestock activity and grazing. The shaded areas provided by the photovoltaic installation can also reduce direct sunlight on the ground, lowering soil temperature and moisture loss. The project places power generation facilities and existing dairy farming operations on the same piece of land, without fully converting agricultural production space into a conventional ground-mounted photovoltaic site.

The project was implemented with the participation of the Gordon family, TCL Solar, Clenergy, and Micropico, among others, along with insurance and financial partners. The official opening event was held locally and included exchanges among agriculture and energy industry representatives on the operating conditions and land use approaches of agrivoltaic projects.