Marae solar

Marae solar

A marae solar energy initiative is strengthening the resilience of 22 marae across Tairāwhiti. This kaupapa supports marae to remain operational during power outages and extreme weather events, so they can continue caring for and supporting their communities when it matters most.

Powering marae through challenging times

During recent severe weather events, marae have played a vital role as safe places for communities and displaced whānau. Marae doors were opened to provide shelter for displaced whānau and serve as a central hub for coordinating local response efforts. A reliable power supply at marae is essential to support this work, especially when the wider network is disrupted.

Pahou Marae

“After Gabrielle, we had nothing, like everybody else. We hope that solar will help us with that, not just for the marae, but for the community.”

— Tui Ferris, Muriwai Marae

Built for resilience

Trust Tairāwhiti co-ordinated the project, working closely with solar suppliers, contractors, and marae representatives to identify the support needed before, during, and after installation. This ensured marae received a fit-for-purpose energy solution that supports both everyday use and emergency response efforts.

Funding support

Mareikura Waka Ama Club raised $20,000 through their own fundraising efforts. Funding for the project also includes contributions from:

“This investment brings real resilience. It’s a great example of a community working with local and central government, funding agencies and iwi Māori across the East Coast to deliver real benefits.”

— Simon Watts, Minister for Energy and Climate Change

Energy sharing opportunity

Marae can choose to join a distributed energy kaupapa with Our Energy. This enables locally generated electricity to be shared and traded within communities.

As generation capacity grows, marae will be able to produce more energy than they use, creating opportunities to share surplus power, reduce costs and strengthen local energy independence.

Over time, marae can become local energy hubs, showing what a community-led energy future can look like across Aotearoa.