# Canterbury farm lease advances ANZA’s first New Zealand solar project > ANZA plans a 42 MW solar farm at Somerton, where sheep grazing is expected to continue and Fonterra has agreed to buy 80% of generation. - **Source date:** 2026-10-22 - **Original source:** [Farmers Weekly / Local Democracy Reporting](https://www.farmersweekly.co.nz/news/arable-pressures-push-canterbury-farmer-into-solar/) - **Reading time:** 3 min read - **Language:** English - **URL:** https://voltformer.com/news/nz-anza-somerton-solar-fonterra-20261022 - **Markdown:** https://voltformer.com/news/nz-anza-somerton-solar-fonterra-20261022.md - **Keywords:** New Zealand, Solar Power, Agriculture, Power purchase agreements, Fonterra, Canterbury, Project development ## A farm diversification project Farmers Weekly’s Local Democracy Reporting story, published on 22 October 2026, describes a planned solar project on Bruce Wild’s farm at Somerton, north of Ashburton in Mid Canterbury. Wild has leased land to ANZA Power, an Australian and New Zealand energy developer and operator. The report says the project is ANZA’s first solar farm in New Zealand. Wild described the decision as a way to diversify farm income as opportunities for some arable crops narrow. He said sheep would continue to graze beneath the panels, so the proposed development is intended to combine electricity generation with continued agricultural use rather than convert the whole property into an industrial site. [Farmers Weekly / Local Democracy Reporting](https://www.farmersweekly.co.nz/news/arable-pressures-push-canterbury-farmer-into-solar/) ## Capacity, connection and buyer ANZA chief executive Carlo Frigerio told the publication that the Somerton project is planned to deliver 42 megawatts of solar generation capacity. The company aims to have the farm operating and connected to the EA Networks grid by early 2028. ANZA has signed a power purchase agreement under which Fonterra will take 80% of the generation. The site covers 148 hectares and has been used for sheep grazing, which the report says will continue after construction. The planned capacity, target date and offtake arrangement are forward-looking project details: the October article reports a project in development, not a commissioned solar plant already supplying electricity. [Farmers Weekly / Local Democracy Reporting](https://www.farmersweekly.co.nz/news/arable-pressures-push-canterbury-farmer-into-solar/) ## A wider Canterbury pipeline The report places Somerton among several solar developments in and around the Ashburton district. It says ANZA is advancing two further Selwyn District sites: the proposed 100 MW Norwood Solar Farm and 70 MW Highfield Solar Farm at Charing Cross. Those are projects under development, not added capacity already built. The article also identifies other large projects in the district, including Lauriston and a Lodestone Energy development near Mount Somers. The pipeline suggests that Canterbury is attracting utility-scale solar proposals, but the projects differ in status, ownership, connection arrangements and delivery schedule. Each should be tracked separately rather than added together as if every announced megawatt were certain to reach operation. [Farmers Weekly / Local Democracy Reporting](https://www.farmersweekly.co.nz/news/arable-pressures-push-canterbury-farmer-into-solar/) ## Analysis and limits Somerton’s design combines a land lease, continued sheep grazing and a long-term electricity buyer, giving the project an agricultural and commercial dimension as well as a generation target. The PPA could provide a route to market for most of the plant’s output, but the article does not publish its price, term, commissioning tests, financing status or final grid connection approvals. The proposed future battery-ready layout is described as an option the site can accommodate, not as a funded battery project. For regional planners, the key next milestones are construction, grid connection and actual output; for farmers, the reported dual land use is a project plan whose operating performance is not yet evidenced. [Farmers Weekly / Local Democracy Reporting](https://www.farmersweekly.co.nz/news/arable-pressures-push-canterbury-farmer-into-solar/) ## Other languages - [en](https://voltformer.com/news/nz-anza-somerton-solar-fonterra-20261022) - [tr](https://voltformer.com/tr/news/nz-anza-somerton-solar-fonterra-20261022) - [de](https://voltformer.com/de/news/nz-anza-somerton-solar-fonterra-20261022) - [ru](https://voltformer.com/ru/news/nz-anza-somerton-solar-fonterra-20261022) - [es](https://voltformer.com/es/news/nz-anza-somerton-solar-fonterra-20261022) - [ar](https://voltformer.com/ar/news/nz-anza-somerton-solar-fonterra-20261022) - [it](https://voltformer.com/it/news/nz-anza-somerton-solar-fonterra-20261022) - [pt](https://voltformer.com/pt/news/nz-anza-somerton-solar-fonterra-20261022) [Company and energy news](https://voltformer.com/news.md) · [Voltformer catalog](https://voltformer.com/catalog)