Solar Panels Generate Savings for Whakatāne District Council

Six months after installation, Whakatāne District Council's solar panels are generating more power and savings than expected, with plans already underway for further expansion.

Whakatāne District Council's solar panels have been making waves on the power bill, six months after installation. 

Climate Change and Resilience Manager Lou Hunt said the panels were installed in September last year to lower emissions, save money on electricity and improve resilience. 

"Our climate pathway in 2024 kicked off some of this work, but we'd already actually been looking at feasibility of solar as far back as 2022."

Panels were installed on the Civic Centre, the Dog Pound, and the Resource Recovery Centre by October last year, using a low interest loan from Trust Horizon. 

Hunt said solar arrays have performed better than expected, with the Civic Centre alone generating 239,000 kilowatt-hour of electricity. 

The council has already saved 30,000 saved across all three sites, with those savings initially budgeted to cover loan repayments.

"The solar panels are doing better than we expected, so we've made some savings in addition to those loan costs."

"And that sort of ticks along for 10 years of loan repayment and then that's when we really start making the biggest savings, once we've paid off the loan."

The current solar panels are projected to save around $900,000 over 25 years, and the council is investigating additional sites that could generate several million dollars in savings over time.

"Those savings come from reduced operating costs, and reduced spend on electricity over time."

With the panels performing well, some electricity is also being sold back to the grid.

This benefits other businesses with high daytime energy use such as retail, offices, and manufacturing, she said. 

"It reduces your exposure to electricity prices, they're volatile, so it gives that long term certainty and it gives it gives that resilience side of it as well," she said. 

With the solar panels providing power during the day, the council is working with the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority to seek central government funding for solar and battery systems that could provide backup power during emergencies.  

The technology would give marae and community hubs off-grid capability, allowing them to continue operating during power outages.

"Making sure that the community can get through emergencies and have the standalone ability to function through disruption, through emergencies and building a more resilient community with these wider community hub projects that we're doing as well."

Future investment will focus on sites where batteries can provide the greatest benefit, Hunt said.

"We started on the sites with the quickest payback is where you have high daytime energy use so the civic building was the obvious one where the employees sit and the daily power bill is high, but we don't have draw at night."

"Where we are investing in batteries are places where the Wharfside Event Centre, primarily evening use and the resilience centres," she said. 

Despite the current council amalgamation process, Hunt remains confident the investment will continue delivering long-term value.  

"We're investing in energy as infrastructure instead of being exposed to these rising costs long term."

"So it's it's a great idea that I hope would benefit whatever sort of future structures we have," she said.