The IPO opens on September 29 and closes on October 14.
The last major listing of any size was property company Winton in December 2021.
Lodestone was founded in 2019 to bring utility-scale solar to the New Zealand electricity market.
“Lodestone’s strategy is based on the vision of a solar farm in every community, integrated with New Zealand’s largely renewable energy electricity grid,” the company said in its notice to the NZX.
Lodestone generates 100% renewable electricity from its operational solar farms across the North and South Islands.
“Lodestone is a vertically integrated renewable electricity generator that develops, constructs and operates its solar farms and sells electricity directly to its customers through its innovative ‘virtual rooftop’ contracting model,” it said.
The company currently serves commercial and industrial customers and has begun selling electricity to mass-market retail customers, extending its proposition to households and small businesses in the communities where it operates, it said.
The business already owns and operates five utility-scale solar farms across New Zealand, generating enough electricity to power more than 33,000 average New Zealand homes annually.
Its sixth farm is under construction, and the company is targeting 16 to 18 operating solar farms by 2032.
Lodestone managing director Gary Holden said the IPO is about continuing the growth of a business the team has spent the past six years building.
“We founded Lodestone Energy in 2019 with a vision to build a solar farm in every community,” he said.
“Since then, we have built the capability to identify and develop high-quality sites, construct and operate solar farms, and sell the electricity they generate directly to customers.
“The IPO allows us to continue doing what we have been doing, but at greater scale.”
Lodestone’s commercial and industrial customers include The Warehouse Group, Inghams, Halls, Pink Batts, Open Country Dairy and Briscoes.
The majority of the volume supplied under its commercial Virtual Rooftop Contracts is contracted on longer-term agreements, with terms ranging from five to 20 years, compared with the one to three-year industry norm.
Lodestone’s growth plan comes as electricity demand in New Zealand is expected to rise.
Government department MBIE expects demand to increase 21% between 2025 and 2035, driven by population growth, greater electrification of industry and transport, and data centre growth.
Jamie Gray is an Auckland-based journalist, covering the financial markets, the primary sector and energy. He joined the Herald in 2011.
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