Community Initiative of the Year
This award recognises a partnership or initiative that delivers meaningful and enduring benefits to communities through genuine collaboration and a commitment to community outcomes.
Sponsored by
Energise Ōtaki
Community owned Solar Farm
finalist
Community Initiative of the Year
New Zealand Energy Excellence Awards 2021
Energise Ōtaki has built a 130kWp community owned solar farm, the first in New Zealand.
Kapiti Coast District Council will pay market rates for power from the larger ground mounted system supplying its Ōtaki Wastewater Treatment Plant, as will Ōtaki College for the power from the smaller roof mounted system.
Funding by Wellington Community Trust, the take-up by Kapiti Coast District Council and the College, the open-book build partnership with Infratec, are all firsts in New Zealand. Equally innovative is the Energise Ōtaki Community Investment Fund which will receive the solar farm revenue for annual reinvestment in community energy projects in the town.