On Friday September 26th 2025 our team were proud to attend the dawn blessing of Te Matakupenga solar farm at New Plymouth Airport.
Photo credit: PRIP
The ceremony was run by Papa Rererangi i Puketapu (PRIP) and Puketapu Hapū and was a fitting celebration for a milestone project that Infratec has been proud to deliver.
Infratec’s team has worked incredibly hard to deliver this project, from detailed design through to construction and commissioning. We have used local contractors and labour for 95% of the delivery and have been overwhelmed with the positive feedback we received from our client and our contractors.
To give an idea of the hard mahi that goes into a project like this, the team on site guided 3,297 piles into the ground, installed 14,392 solar panels and laid 102.6 km of locally sourced electrical cables. All this while conducting meticulous safety and quality checks every step of the way and working closely with stakeholders to ensure minimum disturbance to the community and honouring the rich heritage of the land.
Annually, Te Matakupenga is expected to generate up to 14,700 MWh of electricity and avoid more than 1,500 tonnes of CO2 going into our atmosphere . The solar farm will also make New Plymouth Airport largely self-sufficient in its electricity use and provide additional income from the sale of surplus electricity. Once fully commissioned, Te Matakupenga will be delivered to the competent hands of our sister company, NewPower Energy, for operation and maintenance support. The 15-hectare site will still be used for grazing, ensuring the land remains productive in more ways than one.
This amazing initiative was the brainchild of a locally led team through a partnership between PRIP, the New Plymouth District Council and Puketapu Hapū.
A huge mihi to our delivery team and all our sub-contractors who put in the hard mahi to make PRIP’s vision a reality.
Photo credit: Corrie Scheepers
