Helping Lincoln University demonstrate the potential for integrated renewable energy and agricultural land use

Lincoln University Energy Farm will be first in New Zealand to demonstrate high-value agrivoltaics

Lincoln University has unveiled plans for an energy farm, which will demonstrate how productive land can be optimised to grow high-value horticulture crops while generating commercial-scale solar energy.

The Lincoln University Energy Farm, which is currently under review for resource consent, will be constructed on a four-hectare parcel of University-owned land adjacent to the campus at the corner of Springs and Ellesmere Junction Road.

Boffa Miskell provided landscape planning expertise in preparing a landscape effects assessment and a glint-and-glare assessment for the proposal, as well as preparing the visual montages showing what the energy farm will look like when complete.

Landscape planner James Bentley says, “We have a long-standing relationship with Lincoln University, so this work, which focussed on optimising commercial-scale solar energy coupled with horticultural crops to contribute to biodiversity and a more sustainable energy-focussed outcome, aligns well with our shared ethics.”

The 1.5 MWp solar installation will comprise around 2,800 photovoltaic (PV) panels, generating ~2.3 GWh of renewable energy per year. The rows of bifacial PV panels will be mounted on a state-of-the-art east-west tracking system, with two different height configurations, allowing for commercial crop production alongside and underneath the panel structures.

A distinctive feature of the Energy Farm will be its ability to host a comprehensive range of experiments and crop trials to contribute to the development of leading-edge practices that can be replicated and rolled out across New Zealand and the world. The increase in biodiversity will also be a subject of research, with extensive native planting around and within the site for crop wind protection, onsite water management and improved aesthetics.

“Boffa Miskell’s landscape planners, landscape designers and GIS/ Forge Solar experts worked closely with the university to further develop a project that represents as an exemplar of sustainable practices and a showpiece for transformative land use,” James says.

Boffa Miskell provided landscape design expertise relating to the planting on-site, and worked with Lincoln University to curate a palette of appropriate species to be planted around the proposed solar panels and within the wetland area.

The specific high-value crops to be co-located with the solar array are yet to be determined but are likely to be blueberries, ranui berries or snowberries.

Next to the main array, a second smaller array will be dedicated to multi-use research as its main function, with complete manual control, different height and panel configurations, and different panel technologies.

The new Energy Farm will be the first demonstration of high-value agrivoltaics in Aotearoa New Zealand. While livestock grazing is commonly practised within solar installations locally and internationally, this approach is primarily for the purpose of managing grass growth and is relatively low-value.

Scheduled for completion mid-2025, the energy farm will increase the University’s total generating capacity to approximately ~3.56 GWh, covering 18% of the campus’s annual electricity requirements after the heating system upgrade to 100% electric power.