Southerners looking to the sky for renewable energy

Nicola says the Tuatara space is “just starting to be how we envisaged it” with lots of art on the walls, including many of her own pieces, craft beer, great food and live music.

The solar is part of another aspect of their vision of an environmentally friendly brewery. Since they were installed about two years ago, the panels have powered the brewery side of the business, with any excess sold back to the grid.

“We eventually want to be a green brewery, so this is the first step.”

While it was tricky to work out how much they were saving, as they had expanded the business so much, there were multiple benefits to the solar switch, Chris says.

“It’s good to not be reliant on one power source, I think,” he says.

Some people had been a bit sceptical about solar in Murihiku Southland but the long daylight hours and the fact they worked even during overcast days showed its value, Chris says.

The couple have had solar hot water heating at home for more than 20 years and swore by it, Nicola says.

“Especially when you’ve got a house full of girls,” she says laughing.

Chris, who also runs engineering company Weldtech, was able to do the solar installation himself, only needing an electrician to hook the panels into the existing system.

His only advice is to “do your homework” when looking into solar.