Te Karaka solar farm funded to boost resilience in extreme weather

Climate Change Minister Simon Watts met locals at a site where a solar farm will be developed in Te Karaka. Photo / Gisborne Herald

Te Karaka will benefit from Māori-led action to combat climate change through the building of a solar farm that will power 200 homes and important infrastructure.

On Thursday, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts met locals at a Kanakanaia Rd site where the farm is to be developed.

The farm would keep critical services running during extreme weather events and provide long-term economic benefits for the community, Watts said.

The farm is one of five pilot projects receiving funding as part of the Government’s Māori Climate Platform Initiative.

“Climate adaptation is a significant priority for this Government,” Watts said in a statement. “It’s important we make sure infrastructure is resilient and communities across the country are well prepared.

“During Cyclone Gabrielle, about 500 [Te Karaka] residents endured sheltering on a hillside for over 27 hours without food, communication or support as powerlines were down.

“This underscores the critical need for resilient infrastructure and reinforces why our work to ensure infrastructure is resilient and communities are well-prepared to prevent this in the future.”

Watts said solar farms were a key tool to building resilience in communities.

“The solar farm at Te Karaka will power up to 200 homes and essential services. These include Te Karaka Area School, the police base, the Waikohu Health Centre, the volunteer fire service, the general store/petrol station and the main elderly housing area.

“The marae planning managed retreat will also be able to connect to the system in the future.”

The solar farm is a co-funded project with contributions from the Māori Climate Platform and Toitu Tairāwhiti Builtsmart Ltd, which is owned by the four iwi of Tairāwhiti, including Te Aitanga a Māhaki, whose rohe includes Te Karaka.

The community will have its own power supply if the main grid goes down and power storage systems will provide further back-up to keep power on.

Economic benefits include job creation from the solar farm construction and reduced future energy costs.

The Māori Climate Platform was established (in 2022) to support Māori communities to lead initiatives in climate adaptation, mitigation and resilience. It is administered by the Ministry for the Environment.

Marama Royal - chair of Pou Take Āhuarangi - the climate pou of the National Iwi Chairs Forum - said Māori communities were already experiencing the serious impacts of climate change such as coastal inundation, flooding and the disruption of key infrastructure.

“The Māori Climate Platform is enabling whānau to access funding and tools to respond,” Royal said. “Through the National Iwi Chairs Forum, Pou Take Āhuarangi has supported iwi, hapū and whānau to lead local adaptation efforts grounded in their knowledge and priorities.

“This work is about safeguarding our communities and ensuring our people are equipped to make informed, long-term decisions about their whenua, assets and futures.”

Te Aitanga a Māhaki chair Pehimana Brown said the solar farm project, along with Government investment in other resilience projects, would give the Te Karaka community greater peace of mind going into the future.

The first pilot project funded through the Māori Climate Platform was the upgrade of a water reticulation system for a marae in Northland.

The other newly funded pilots are a protective sea wall to mitigate coastal erosion and safeguard communities on Matakana Island, solar power and water storage infrastructure to improve marae preparedness and resilience in Te Tauihu at the top of the South Island, and native tree planting to restore ecosystems and sequester carbon in Taranaki.

Around $9 million of additional funding will be distributed over the coming months to support further Māori-led climate initiatives.