Singapore-based SC Oscar wins approval for solar farms in New Zealand
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Once operational in 2025-2026, SC Oscar's solar farms in New Zealand will add approximately 221 gigawatt hours of renewable electricity a year to the national grid.
ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG
Wellington – Singapore-based investor SC Oscar Holdings has secured permission from the New Zealand government to buy land for four solar farms.
The land is in Taranaki, the Hawke’s Bay and the Northland regions of New Zealand’s North Island, according to a decision posted by the Overseas Investment Office. Approval was granted in early October.
Once operational in 2025-2026, the solar farms will add approximately 221 gigawatt hours of renewable electricity a year to the national grid, the regulator said in the decision. Construction of the land will require investment of more than NZ$150 million (S$123.7 million) and create a large number of temporary jobs, it said.
New Zealand generates more than 80 per cent of its electricity from renewable sources such as hydroelectric dams, and it aspires to reach 100 per cent by 2030. That will require significant investment to replace fossil fuel-fired turbines with more wind, solar and geothermal plants.
On its website, SC Oscar says it was formed in 2022 “with a mission to drive decarbonisation in Asia-Pacific by establishing and managing private equity funds which invest in renewable energy projects and other real assets that reduce carbon emissions”.
The founders are the principals of SC Capital Partners – a Singapore real estate investment management company – and renewable energy project developer Oscar Energy, according to the website. BLOOMBERG
