Meridian, Kiwi Property sign solar power deal

Friday, 27 October 2017

Derek Calvert cleans the solar panels on top of Sylvia Park Mall in Mt Wellington, Auckland.

Four more shopping malls across the country are soon to be powered by the sun.

Meridian and commercial property owner Kiwi Property have signed a memorandum of understanding with a view to installing commercial solar power systems across four shopping malls: Auckland's LynnMall, Hamilton's The Base, Palmerston North's The Plaza and Christchurch's Northlands

Kiwi Property already has a solar power system on Sylvia Park, in Auckland.

Meridian chief executive Mark Binns said it was hoped the programme would encourage the development of further commercial solar projects. He said they were often hindered by upfront capital costs, performance risks and support requirements.

'Meridian is wanting to help businesses further benefit from renewable energy and had identified segments of the commercial sector where the usage profile meant it made sense for customers and ourselves to work together on a solution. We have really concentrated on working with customers where a 'win-win' outcome is possible,' he said.

'Kiwi Property is New Zealand's largest listed diversified property company, and has demonstrated their commitment to sustainability through their Sylvia Park solar system, making them a strong partner for this project. Our commercial solar package is an opportunity for Meridian to grow our business in a world of falling distributed energy costs and direct corporate investment in renewable energy which is an evolving global trend.'

Meridian will invest in the upfront system cost and then charge Kiwi Property for the solar power generated under a power purchase agreement. At the end of the PPA term ownership of the system will pass to Kiwi Property.

With an estimated capacity of at least 650kW, the system result in Kiwi Property being the country's largest commercial consumer of solar power. Once the programme is complete it is expected that Kiwi Property's combined solar power capacity, including its existing 350kW Sylvia Park system, will exceed 1MW.

Kiwi Property's Sylvia Park system, which was switched on in January 2015, has a capacity of 350kW and produces 17 per cent of Sylvia Park's base building energy requirements annually.