Funding to strengthen Māori climate resilience and create economic benefits

Funding for a solar farm at Te Karaka will keep critical services running during extreme weather events and provide long term economic benefits for the community.

The solar farm 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 Māahaki of the Te Karaka region.

The community will have their own power supply if the main grid is down, and power storage systems will provide further backup to keep essential services running. Economic benefits include job creation from the solar farm construction and reduced future energy costs.

The solar farm project is one of five pilot projects receiving funding for Māori-led climate action as part of the Māori Climate Platform.