Sydney business Solar Bay to supply power to Ryman Healthcare

Renewable energy fund Solar Bay, founded by James Doyle and Andrew Archibald in Darlinghurst, Sydney, has signed an agreement to develop a solar power farm capable of supplying power to Ryman’s 38 villages in New Zealand. The NZ$35 million solar farm will be built, owned and operated by Solar Bay on a site near Maungaturoto, a small town in the country’s North Island, and the 29.94 million kWh of energy it produces each year will be fed directly into the national grid in Northland, taking pressure off the system. Under an exclusive agreement, Ryman will be Solar Bay’s only customer, giving Solar Bay a guaranteed buyer for all its renewable energy production for the next 10 years. The farm will save an estimated 3,294 tonnes of carbon a year, Ryman Healthcare said in a statement. Ryman Healthcare New Zealand Chief Executive Cheyne Chalmers said the deal fitted with Ryman’s plans to be as sustainable as possible in New Zealand.