The largest utility solar power plant in New Zealand, a 2.5MW plant in Marlborough, constructed by Kea Energy will possibly become the first large-scale solar plant partly purchased using the cryptocurrency Bitcoin.

The plant will generate an estimated 4,500MWh of electricity per year, powering around 550 standard New Zealand households annually.

A partnership between solar panel manufacturer Yingli Solar and installation company Kea Energy, enabled the companies to explore diversified transaction models that are secure and efficient using blockchain technology.

“Economic savings for solar systems are highly predictable and proven by the financial modelling,” Yingli Solar Australia managing director Tim Feng says.

“New Zealand has 80% of its electricity supplied by clean energy. However, we will need to work closely with our partners to achieve the government’s target of 90% of electricity to be sourced from renewables by 2025.”

Kea Energy’s Campbell McMath says the company is proud to be the first company in New Zealand to install a multi-MW solar farm: “Our team will be executing the entire project including design, financial procurement, and installation as well as managing the grid connection process. It’s good to work with a company as innovative as Yingli Solar who is willing to look at payment transactions such as Bitcoin.”