Rangitāne o Tamaki nui-ā-Rua has unveiled an iwi-owned floating solar project aimed at supporting a community facing energy hardship.
He Anga Paneke, which sits on a wastewater treatment pond in Dannevirke, comprises 880 solar panels owned and operated by the iwi. The project will contribute towards the electricity bills of at least 58 whānau in the community.
The initiative was developed in partnership with Tararua District Council, which will purchase electricity from the iwi to power the wastewater treatment plant. Surplus revenue will be returned to the community.
Rangitāne o Tamaki nui-ā-Rua trustee Mavis Mullins described the initiative as “a local solution for local problems”.
“The winners in this are: A, the rate payers, because we’re going to be saving them money with the partnership we have with the council and then the aim for ourselves as Rangitāne o Tamaki nui-ā-Rua Charitable Trust is to be able to distribute pūtea to those of our whānau and our community where energy poverty is a real deal.”
Whānau face difficult choices
Mullins described the energy hardship facing whānau across the district as “dire”.
Dannevirke, home to just over 5,000 people, lies between Hawke’s Bay and Palmerston North. He Anga Paneke is expected to help ease the financial pressure facing local whānau.
Mullins said some whānau were being forced to choose between essential household needs, including “choosing between turning on the heat pump and getting a bottle of milk.”
She said the project could support people across the community who were experiencing similar hardship.
“For smaller communities, here we have something that is non-productive land, full community engagement. Win, win, win, win for many factors of our community.”
Push for energy sovereignty
The project comes as Te Pāti Māori campaigns for greater whānau, hapū, iwi and community ownership of the country’s energy system.
Last week, the party announced an energy sovereignty policy intended to reduce power costs, develop Aotearoa’s energy sector and shift ownership towards communities.
The policy includes establishing a $1 billion energy sovereignty fund to develop Māori and community-owned energy assets, creating a long-term energy plan and introducing a fair-value system to ensure whānau and communities are properly paid for the energy they generate and store.
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rāwiri Waititi said it was time for whānau to have greater control over the power they used.
“For too long our whānau have been told that power is something we buy. Every month the bill arrives, we pay it. The price goes up, we pay it. And every year after billions of dollars flow through an electricity system in which ordinary whānau have very little ownership and very little control.”
He Anga Paneke demonstrates how Māori-owned and operated energy projects could provide local solutions and direct their benefits back to whānau.
“We’re feeling really proud and we look forward to keeping on thinking about how as locals provide solutions to our own local problems,” says Mullins.
