The road towards Stewart Island Rakiura’s energy solution celebrated a significant milestone on Friday when the first sod was turned at the site of the island’s new solar farm.
Associate Minister of Regional Development Mark Patterson and Southland District Council Mayor Rob Scott shared the ceremonial honours, joined by a group of about 40 island residents, dignitaries, contractors, and stakeholders.
Mayor Scott placed a small sod of turf into a jar and told the group he would replace it in the ground when the project was completed.
“This project isn’t about fixing something that’s broken,” he said later at a well-attended community meeting at the Pavilion.
“It’s about building on what’s already here.
“It’s not my project, it’s not the minister’s project, it’s your project.”
Minister Patterson told the audience it was “a really significant day for this community”.
“The majesty of living in this extraordinary place does come with a cost.”
The “uncomfortable truth” was that running off diesel generators for its electricity was not how the government saw the future for Stewart Island Rakiura.
Regional Public Service Commissioner Steph Voight said the connection between people and environment was felt deeply on the island.
“Today we celebrate partnership, progress … and a future that doesn’t rely on diesel.”
Friday’s events mark the beginning of construction of the solar farm at the site of the former gun club on Airport Road. The 2-hectare site will accommodate an estimated 3,000 solar panels.
The Rakiura Energy Solutions project has been exploring options since 2023 to reduce Stewart Island’s reliance on diesel generators to produce electricity. A total of 494 permanent connections receive their power from the Stewart Island Electrical Supply Authority (SIESA) but the cost of diesel means island consumers currently pay 89 cents per kilowatt hour, around 240% more than mainland New Zealanders pay for electricity.
The project is designed to improve the resilience and robustness of the electricity distribution network, lowering electricity costs for island power consumers, reducing their exposure to dramatic diesel cost fluctuations, and stimulating the local economy.
The target is to reduce the use of diesel by up to 75%.
The project is being run by Southland District Council, working with the Stewart Island Rakiura Community Board, and the SIESA operations and maintenance contractor NZ Energy.
Infratec, which will build the solar farm, aims to have it commissioned in January 2027.
General manager development and delivery Chris Service spoke about Infratec’s track record in building micro-grid solar/battery plants in New Zealand and Tonga.
“It’s a pretty exciting project for us … we’re really keen to take you on the journey with us.”
Mayor Scott acknowledged the support of Invercargill MP and Cabinet minister Penny Simmonds, and Conservation Minister Tama Potaka, and spoke passionately about the contribution of former Stewart Island Rakiura district councillor Bruce Ford, who instigated the search for an energy solution for the island many years ago.
In June 2025, the government announced a suspensory loan of up to $15.35 million from its Regional Infrastructure Fund, administered by Kānoa – Regional Economic Development and Investment Unit, enabling the first stage of the project to proceed. This comprises an initial 2-megawatt solar farm with 4-megawatt battery, plus network upgrades.
Electricity generated by the solar panels will be fed directly into the network and batteries, supplementing the current diesel generators which will power up when required to meet excess demand. Once stage one of the project is completed, transition between solar and diesel-generated supply of electricity will be seamless. The batteries will have the capacity to store at least six hours’ worth of the current average amount of energy needed by the island.
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