Introduction
In mid 2024 a small group of homeowners from Castle Hill Village with an interest in energy sustainability started talking about solar projects at the Village as a way to reduce power prices and provide resilience for our community during emergencies.
The concept of a solar project in Castle Hill was accepted as part of the first Community Energy Activator, run in collaboration with Orion Energy, Ara Ake and the Community Energy Network from September – November 2024. It was the only Selwyn District based project of the 9 successful projects accepted. Read more about the pilot programme here. https://www.oriongroup.co.nz/our-story/the-latest/energy-pilot-launches
A summary of the pilot programme by Ara Ake is here and the final presentations can be viewed here.
After a successful period of project planning supported by the Activator team and the mentor assiged to the Castle Hill Community Energy Project, Bill Heaps, the project team will continue to work with Bill to confirm the interest of key stakeholders such as Selwyn District Council and Orion in the project so that a pre-feasibility study can be completed in 2025.
Project objectives
- An off-grid, low carbon solution to support Castle Hill Village emergency response and recovery in the event of a disaster.
- Reducing/offsetting the carbon emissions of the Village and its associated infrastructure (e.g. fresh water and waste water treatment).
- Assessment of the feasibility of a “Virtual Power Plant” with grid stabilisation capabilities.
Location of village and grid exit point substation
The village is in close proximity to the 66kV power lines coming from the Coleridge power station, with the grid exit point (GXP) substation located close to the village, east of State Hwy 73 and south of the Thomas River.
Image from https://www.topomap.co.nz
Castle Hill Grid Exit Point (GXP) Substation. Credit: Bill Heaps
Castle Hill Village land owner survey – October 2024
We recently undertook a survey of Castle Hill Village land owners to assess the current energy status of households and their aspirations for renewable energy solutions with 72 people responding.
There are currently 82 solar photovoltaic roof mounted panels installed across 5 properties, with two properties using roof mounted solar hot water heating systems.
Resilence, energy independence and climate change impacts of the village are key theme for land owners and 90% of respondents indicated they would be interested in a community solar and battery installation.
Presentation to Selwyn District Council
Kate Hodgins presented on behalf of the project to the Selwyn District Council in October 2024, which can be viewed on YouTube starting at 20:18.
The Selwyn District Council minutes mention the presentation on page 2 and then the subsequent discussion by Coucil members on page 13.
Media articles
Project contacts
Kate Hodgins, Dave Laurie and Helena Parsons
castlehillenergyproject @ gmail.com
