Solid Energy has sold approximately 2,000 hectares (ha) of surplus rural land in Eastern Southland. All but one of the successful tenderers are New Zealand entities, including a number of local farming enterprises.
The sale offering included 900 ha of dairy farm land and approximately 1,100 ha of farms suitable either for conversion to dairying or for dairying support.
Solid Energy acquired the land in Eastern Southland to secure access to the district’s large lignite coal resource. It was deemed surplus following a market-driven restructuring from mid-2012 which resulted in the business narrowing its focus to conventional coal mining and marketing.