Megan Woods. Photo: Niva Chittock / RNZ
Future energy generation will be carbon-free and community based, the energy minister says.
Dr Megan Woods announced the first tranche of the Community Renewable Energy Fund on Monday - $1.2 million spread across five community solar projects.
Woods spoke from Te Whatumanawa Māoritanga o Rehua Marae in Christchurch, which had solar panels installed on four kaumātua flats last year, as part of the government programme.
"This is a pilot. It's to understand how we can get benefits to communities, in terms of resilience, but also affordability.
"We know that households in some projects have seen their power bills drop by 30 to 50 percent."
Kaumātua Jerry Thompson said the solar panels were great.
"It's warmer and cheaper than before… and there's been no disruption. I'd recommend it."
The solar PV system usually took just a month to assemble in a factory before it could be installed.
The system also promoted energy independence, Woods added.
"The marae can sell any surplus energy back to the national grid. Resilience is also boosted as the central battery system is set up so essential services such as the refrigerator and internet connection will continue to run in a power outage, and unessential appliances will be disconnected."
Megan Woods speaking with kaumātua who live in the four flats. Photo: Niva Chittock / RNZ
The success of such projects saw the fund receive $30m in week's Budget, to be allocated over four years.
Among the first tranche recipients were 20 kaumātua flats in Tauranga, 23 homes in a new Whangārei community housing development and a transitional housing facility for vulnerable people in Manawatū.
There was also an emergency and transitional accommodation facility for whānau in South Canterbury.
Tracey McLellan, Banks Peninsula MP with Megan Woods. Photo: Niva Chittock / RNZ
Woods said the fund targeted projects that trialled innovative ways of storing and distributing locally generated energy, which she believed will have increasing importance in future.
"We saw the benefits on the East Coast of the North Island [after Cyclone Gabrielle]... We saw that actually those homes that had connectivity through solar did actually maintain some ability to use appliances, like boil a jug, while other households didn't have power."
The process to allocate the remaining $44.8m was still being finalised, and will be announced later this year.
