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<\/p>\nFive marae from Whanganui to Taumarunui are running on solar power and many more could join a major green energy initiative aimed at cutting electricity costs and strengthening community resilience.<\/p>\n
By Moana Ellis for Local Democracy Reporting<\/p>\n
The marae-based solar project, led and funded by iwi entity Ng\u0101 T\u0101ngata Tiaki o Whanganui through Te Wh\u0101whaki Trust, is installing solar systems on marae along the Whanganui River as part of a long-term investment in renewable energy and marae resilience.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can still remember [the marae] when it had a dirt floor in the kitchen and open fires and cooking kai like that,\u201d a kuia at Ng\u0101p\u016bwaiwaha Marae in Taumarunui said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s good to have [solar panels] at the marae now, and we\u2019re moving forward for mokopuna.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another kuia said installing a solar system \u201cbrings us into the next few years without having to worry about power bills\u201d.<\/p>\n
A pilot programme will see solar panels and batteries installed at eight marae by the end of June, with a further nine installations planned before the end of the year. So far, 32 marae have registered their interest.<\/p>\n
Rangit\u0101ne iwi-owned and operated business T\u016b Mai R\u0101 Energy is carrying out the installations.<\/p>\n
Organisers say the work will reduce long-term operating costs while improving energy security for marae that serve as vital community hubs.<\/p>\n
Te Wh\u0101whaki Trust kaiarotahi Amiria Joseph-Wiari, who oversees the initiative, says marae are fundamental to the ability to express manaakitanga, to uphold mana and to maintain whakapapa connection and responsibilities.<\/p>\n
The project aims to strengthen marae energy resilience and independence during power outages, emergencies and periods of power scarcity and reduce reliance on external systems.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I hope this project achieves is that marae are more sustainable and have the ability to determine their operations at a hap\u016b level without having to rely on paying for power to keep the doors open, keep the lights on and manaaki manuhiri.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
An installment underway at Tuhiariki Marae (Source: Local Democracy Reporting)<\/p>\n
The first installation was completed in February at Te Ao Hou on the banks of the Whanganui River. Four other marae \u2013 Tuhiariki, Mangamingi, Ng\u0101p\u016bwaiwaha and Raetihi \u2013 now also have solar systems.<\/p>\n
Project manager Troy Brown, who has led the initiative for nearly two years, said one of his main responsibilities has been connecting marae, contractors and Ng\u0101 T\u0101ngata Tiaki.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of that is being able to have conversations with each other in a way that we can all understand, because it is an initiative that is quite new to a lot of us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brown said the project grew from a desire to invest in marae and build long-term capability.<\/p>\n
Ng\u0101 T\u0101ngata Tiaki was established in 2014 after the signing of Ruruku Whakatupua, the settlement agreement between Whanganui Iwi and the Crown regarding the Whanganui River.<\/p>\n
Before Ng\u0101 T\u0101ngata Tiaki was created, the Whanganui River M\u0101ori Trust Board represented iwi interests and addressed issues affecting the river and lands. A key concern was the environmental impact of the Tongariro Power Scheme and ongoing water diversion for hydroelectric power generation.<\/p>\n
These pressures led Whanganui communities and marae to seek more sustainable and locally driven energy solutions. As part of this work, Ng\u0101 T\u0101ngata Tiaki developed the solar energy project.<\/p>\n
Early stages of the programme have focused heavily on education and awareness.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s the biggest step. We want wh\u0101nau and marae to be informed,\u201d Brown said.<\/p>\n
\u201cMarae are at different stages and the conversations are very different for each.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some were initially hesitant because of concerns around batteries and uncertainty about the benefits, while others already understood the advantages.<\/p>\n
The systems are individually designed for each marae based on power use assessments, including analysis of 12 months of power bills and appliance usage.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom those, we calculated how much energy a marae would use over a year and then averaged it to determine the size of the system required,\u201d Brown said.<\/p>\n
Joseph-Wiari said installation costs vary depending on marae usage and energy demand.<\/p>\n
\u201cSolar energy is going to help them generate the power they need to operate and then generate power to sell back to the grid to reduce the power bill.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith around about 32 currently interested, it’s quite a big project.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ng\u0101 T\u0101ngata Tiaki hoped to complete the wider project by the end of next year.<\/p>\n
Brown said the project ultimately represented something bigger than energy savings.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a step toward mana motuhake \u2013 less reliance on the system.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2013 LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Five marae from Whanganui to Taumarunui are running on solar power and many more could join a major…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":441164,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[273,12553,4432,111,139,69,147],"class_list":["post-441163","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-environment","tag-iwi-hapu","tag-maori-issues","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/441163","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=441163"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/441163\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/441164"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=441163"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=441163"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=441163"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}