AWARDS FINALIST: Daniel Cunningham – Lodestone Energy
Daniel Cunningham, Lodestone Energy’s general manager for development, has played a key role in the company’s success in building utility-scale solar generation.
Moving from Canada at the age of 29, where he had led the development of the C$1 billion Travers solar project, in 2020 Cunningham joined forces with stepfather Gary Holden and capital partners Guy and Sue Haddleton and started Lodestone.
The move was a significant milestone in his career. As leader of development opportunities, he has been instrumental in Lodestone evolving in just four years into a thriving enterprise with 17 solar farms earmarked for development or under construction.
‘Swiss army knife’
Lodestone has an ambitious development plan – and Cunningham is a key part of its delivery.
A self-confessed “Swiss army knife”, his role involves analysing potential sites, sourcing land, conducting feasibility studies, setting up interconnection agreements, contracting construction and overseeing preliminary engineering.
He leads a team by example when interacting with landowners, environmental stakeholders, district councils and iwi.
Lodestone says Cunningham shows valuable skills in putting projects together from scratch and has a mastery of thinking through site issues that can mean the difference between a financeable project and one that is not.
Kohirā
New Zealand’s first utility-scale solar farm – the 23.7 MW Kohirā project near Kaitaia – began operations in November. For four years, Cunningham played a pivotal role as Lodestone managed the site, from development through land acquisition, consenting, transmission and conceptual design.
As the team has grown, Cunningham has moved successfully from a player in a small team, to playing an important role in a management team of more than 20 professionals.
He assisted in negotiations for a master engineering, procurement, and construction contract with Infratec to construct the first five sites.
He also negotiated supporting technical contracts with Jacobs and Kilo Power on engineering, and master supply agreements with Trina Solar for solar equipment and Power Electronics for inverters.
His knack for forming solid relationships – coupled with his in-depth knowledge of the technicalities of negotiating with landowners, neighbours, and industry peers – played a pivotal role in securing sites for the second and third phases of the company’s business plan.
Funding
Lodestone was the first company to recognise that utility-scale solar could be introduced as a cornerstone technology able to compete in the contracts market with incumbent generators based on hydro, coal, and gas.
It was also the first to sell utility-scale solar in large volumes directly to customers; Cunningham was a key contributor to both major milestones.
His technical understanding of solar generation and his extensive involvement with project stakeholders mean he plays a vital support role in the company’s capital-raising efforts. Lodestone has secured $355 million in total capital (debt and equity) and is currently raising debt and equity for Phase 2.
Innovation
Known within Lodestone as a driver of innovation, Cunningham championed a number of project-specific initiatives.
He played a key role in Lodestone’s decision to build solar farms using the agri-voltaic concept, incorporating bifacial panels and two-in-portrait, single-axis tracker systems.
He also used overseas experience to ensure the sites were designed with long-term value in mind, incorporating DC overbuild and a DC-coupled, BESS-ready design.
The Young Energy Professional award category is sponsored by Phoenix Recycling Group.