NZ's biggest school solar system slashing power bills at Kerikeri High

Kerikeri High School property manager Richard Pilling (left) and associate principal Mike Clent atop the Business, Enterprise and Social Sciences building where a 174kW solar power system is slashing the school’s power bills. Photo / Peter de Graaf

New Zealand's biggest school solar power system has slashed electricity bills at Kerikeri High School by more than half.

The 174-kilowatt system eclipses what was previously the country's biggest solar system, a 101kW solar panel array at Kaitaia College which opened in 2019.

Kerikeri High associate principal Mike Clent said the move to solar power made a lot of sense.

Power costs in Kerikeri were among the highest in New Zealand and had increased by an average of more than 5 per cent every year during the past decade.

At peak output, the system generated 60 to 65 per cent of the school's power needs.

The solar system, by SuperPower, cost a ''significant sum'' but Clent was confident it would pay for itself in five years.

It had a projected life of 25 years so that meant 20 years of savings that could be directed into other areas of the school.

The new system also benefited the environment and provided new learning opportunities for students, he said.

The panels cover the roofs of the gym and the 10-classroom Business, Enterprise and Social Sciences block.

At the official opening of Kerikeri High School’s solar power system associate principal Mike Clent (left), principal Elizabeth Forgie, deputy head girl Pippiana Voakes, head boy Nicolas Powell, deputy head boy Matthew Clent, consultant Gerry Buxton, Board of Trustees member Wendy Butler, matua Taua Kemp and Board of Trustees chairwoman Sue Richards. Photo / Supplied

With no external funding available, the school took the plunge and funded the system itself.

''We applied two years ago to the Ministry of Education's Contestable Sustainability Fund and thought we had a strong case, but we were turned down.''

The new system was even more valuable in the Covid era because the air conditioning had to be used more often to increase ventilation, pushing power costs up even more.

The project had been several years in the making and was finally switched on earlier this term.

''I expect there'll be growing numbers of schools in high sunshine areas looking at solar as an option, a, for the financial benefits, and b, more importantly, because it's sustainable energy that reduces the impact on the environment. By using solar power, we're practising what we preach and leading the way for our students and the wider community. It also has really good educational benefits for the kids.''

Kaitaia College's 101kW solar system was previously the biggest installed at any New Zealand school. Photo / Supplied

The school had expert guidance from Gerry Buxton, a retired engineer with grandchildren at the school.

''He gave us the confidence to proceed,'' Clent said.

Buxton had previously worked with Riverview School, a Kerikeri primary school that also uses solar power.

Clent said environmental action at the school had a long tradition.

The student-led Saving All Valuable Environments group had, for example, carried out beach clean-ups, planted trees along Wairoa Stream, made sculptures from recyclable materials to highlight the amount of waste generated at the school, and installed compost and recycling bins.

Teachers were exploring ways in which the accumulating solar power data could be incorporated into a range of curriculum areas.

A study by Consumer NZ last year found Kerikeri was paying the highest power prices in the country, averaging 40 per cent more than similar households in Auckland where median incomes were about 25 per cent higher.