A large-scale solar power system on Motutapu Island in the Hauraki Gulf switches on today and is expected to provide up to 70 percent of the island's energy requirements.Conservation Minister Kate Wilkinson said the $715,000 project, expected to generate
A large-scale solar power system on Motutapu Island in the Hauraki Gulf switches on today and is expected to provide up to 70 percent of the island's energy requirements.
Conservation Minister Kate Wilkinson said the $715,000 project, expected to generate at least 65,000kWh per year, would save about 800 litres of diesel a week previously used on the Department of Conservation (DOC) sanctuary.
Power generated on the island supplies DOC houses where staff and contractors live, and also supplies Motutapu Farm and the Motutapu Outdoor Education Camp, which hosts 12,000 guests each year.
Motutapu is the ninth DOC-managed island to have renewable energy systems installed as part of the department's sustainability programme, and the solar project there is the largest off-grid one in New Zealand.
