{"id":260540,"date":"2026-01-31T05:52:06","date_gmt":"2026-01-31T05:52:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/260540\/"},"modified":"2026-01-31T05:52:06","modified_gmt":"2026-01-31T05:52:06","slug":"ruakaka-solar-to-hydrogen-farm-powers-ahead-to-fuel-heavy-transport","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/260540\/","title":{"rendered":"Ruak\u0101k\u0101 solar to hydrogen farm powers ahead to fuel heavy transport"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hiringa co-founder and chair Catherine Clennett <\/a>said using a hydrogen-fuelled truck to transport the solar panels from Auckland to Ruak\u0101k\u0101 was a good example of how the project was cutting emissions even before opening and that process alone would avoid an estimated 10 tonnes of carbon.<\/p>\n

Australian\u2011born and educated Clennett, whose engineering and commercial background spans the energy, resources, infrastructure and telecommunications sectors, founded Hiringa with her husband Andrew Clennett, chief technical officer Dan Kahn and head of trading and markets Matthew Carnachan.<\/p>\n

The company positions itself as a leader in generating renewable electricity and \u201cmaking, moving, storing and selling\u201d green hydrogen for industry and transport.<\/p>\n

Clennett said construction methods across the company\u2019s projects were chosen to reduce embodied carbon, including cutting back on concrete and steel. <\/p>\n

The Ruak\u0101k\u0101 project is being delivered with investment partner MyFarm, which invests across New Zealand\u2019s rural economy. MyFarm raised $17.7 million from about 70 wholesale investors \u2013 around 90% New Zealand based \u2013 to support Hiringa\u2019s solar-to-hydrogen farm rollout.<\/p>\n

The two companies have entered a 10\u2011year agreement under which Hiringa will buy 100% of the power generated from up to five solar farms developed over the next two to three years.<\/p>\n

MyFarm CEO Andrew Watters <\/a>said the 5MW scale was chosen because it was \u201ccommercially meaningful but quick to establish\u201d. Despite not being a fast-tracked project, Ruak\u0101k\u0101 moved from concept to construction in just over 12 months \u2013 far shorter than the four to six\u2011year timeframe typical for large solar projects.<\/p>\n

Watters said solar still contributed only about 1% of New Zealand\u2019s electricity but was likely to grow to 10%, calling the industry \u201cstill quite new\u201d. He estimated about 30,000 panels would be installed at Ruak\u0101k\u0101, taking advantage of a 10\u2011fold drop in panel costs over the past decade.<\/p>\n

Clennett said Ruak\u0101k\u0101\u2019s location was strategically ideal for the network. \u201cThere are a lot of heavy\u2011vehicle movements up into Northland and back to Auckland\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"AvoidingAvoiding carbon from the outset… Panels for Hiringa’s new solar to hydrogen farm at Ruakaka arrive on a hydrogen-powered truck, the only emissions from which are water. Photo \/ Peter Payne<\/p>\n

The use of hydrogen fuel added only about 1% to the overall project cost, while delivering disproportionately large emissions benefits, she said. <\/p>\n

Low-emission freight is becoming a commercial incentive for exporters, particularly those supplying Europe, where companies must now report and reduce carbon across supply chains. Green transport corridors, she said, are moving from concept to a real, purchasable reality. <\/p>\n

Clennett said hydrogen trucks drive almost identically to diesel models<\/a>, with similar torque and handling and operational feel \u2013 the difference being that the exhaust releases only water vapour.<\/p>\n

Heavy road transport was only the start for Hiringa, which also wants to supply fuel to the rail, aviation, and marine sectors \u2013 areas where electrification remains limited and where high\u2011energy\u2011density fuels are essential. <\/p>\n

\"TheThe construction of the farm is expected to employ about 50 locals. Photo \/ Peter Payne<\/p>\n

Hiringa\u2019s goals align with the Government decarbonisation policy<\/a>, with ministers repeatedly highlighting hydrogen\u2019s role in decarbonising hard\u2011to\u2011electrify sectors.<\/p>\n

Hiringa\u2019s $50 million investment in the refuelling stations was initially supported by a $16 million Government loan from the Covid-19 Recovery fund.<\/p>\n

With wharf infrastructure being redeveloped at Marsden Point, Clennett said the site would be well-placed to support emerging green shipping lanes.<\/p>\n

Clennett said construction of the Ruak\u0101k\u0101 project would generate employment for about 50 people and had created work for Patu Harakeke, Northdrill and McKay, with some ongoing roles expected once the site becomes operational.<\/p>\n

This project met with no public opposition. Hiringa previously faced a Court of Appeal challenge by Greenpeace Aotearoa and Ng\u0101ruahine hap\u016b to its K\u0101puni wind\u2011to\u2011hydrogen project.<\/a><\/p>\n

Sarah Curtis is a news reporter for the Northern Advocate, covering a wide range of issues. She has 20 years\u2019 experience in journalism, mostly as a court reporter in Gisborne and on the East Coast<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Hiringa co-founder and chair Catherine Clennett said using a hydrogen-fuelled truck to transport the solar panels from Auckland…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":260541,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[3017,28824,138,1568,1667,3233,1888,2678,6559,149569,41227,15399,111,139,69,107100,13577,18661,72851,4166,149570,1961,61,112,20210,686,102],"class_list":["post-260540","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-ahead","tag-arrived","tag-business","tag-construction","tag-energy","tag-farm","tag-first","tag-fuel","tag-heavy","tag-hiringa","tag-hydrogen","tag-massive","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-panels","tag-powers","tag-pushes","tag-ruakk","tag-solar","tag-solartohydrogen","tag-this","tag-to","tag-transport","tag-truckload","tag-week","tag-with"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/260540","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=260540"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/260540\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/260541"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=260540"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=260540"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=260540"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}