Friday, 18 December 2020, 5:18 pm A new report for MBIE[i] outlines the “economics” of massive growth of utility-scale solar – suggesting power companies may install some 2 to 11 gigawatts of solar by 2030. This compares to today’s total generation capacity of 9.2 gigawatts. In the example given on table 1, a $190 million solar farm would cover some 533 hectares of dairy farming country, and generate 160 peak megawatts. The energy output would depend on the solar energy regime at the location. The report notes that no such plant has been built yet in New Zealand, but costs are falling rapidly, and the possibility of a substantial “covid subsidy” would