December 2025 Work in the past couple of months at Rānui has included building the control panels which control the solar farm, finalising protection equipment and waiting for engineering studies. The independent engineering consultants will provide settings which will be programmed to ensure the scheme will integrate well into Marlborough Read more…
A flock of about 150 sheep are happily keeping the grass down at Rānui Solar Farm and enjoying the benefits of shade and shelter from the solar panels. Agrivoltaics, or, when applied to sheep, more evocatively known as solar grazing, provides a micro-climate under the solar arrays, with cooler temperatures Read more…
Last week, some enthusiastic young environmentalists (school students) along with other volunteers began planting native trees on the border between Rānui Solar Farm and the Whale (cycle) Trail. The Marlborough Weekly covered it and discovered how a cycle trail+native trees+ solar energy = good for the environment. Photo caption: Rānui’s Read more…
Rānui Solar Farm’s main contractor, K&T Construction, has now left the site after seven months, as all of the work associated with the panels and DC wiring is now complete. They have done a fantastic job and have been friendly, professional, and dealt with issues promptly and efficiently as they Read more…
One of the inverters is craned into place at Rānui. The installation of three 14 tonne inverters at Rānui Solar Farm in mid-August marked a significant milestone for the project, with much of the major work now completed. The inverters which are 6.5 metres long and 2.2 metres wide convert Read more…
The mechanical installation is now complete. 10760 piles, 736 Tables, 20608 Panels, 100000 nuts and bolts. Awesome work by K&T Construction.
The last few weeks have seen good progress. The piling is complete, 70% of the girders/purlins have been installed, 60% of the panels are in place and most of the trenching has been completed. This video shows work carried out in the last three weeks.
Good progress has been made with the piling nearly done, 30% of the framing complete and 10% of the panels installed. The time lapse video below shows the first stages of building the solar farm, putting the piles in, then attaching the framing which holds the panels
This week saw the construction of the ‘Golden Row’, the first row of solar panels which is used as a blueprint for the rest of the construction and quality control of the solar farm. Surveying for pile positions and pile distribution was completed, and piling is now 60% complete.
By 22 March the K&T Construction team had installed 2244 piles- 21% of the total number of piles, which will support 20,608 solar panels. The first week on the job had seen the team setting up systems and mobilising equipment and people. Kaikoura MP, Stuart Smith, dropped in to Read more…