Otuwhare Marae is a sacred Maori meeting ground nestled in the picturesque east coast of the north island of New Zealand. The local Ngai Te Rangi tribe do not take the sun’s power and importance for granted.

In 2013, Greyhound Electrical’s electrician Steve Lowe commissioned this beautiful 5kW system when he worked as the in-house electrician for Powersmart Solar.

When Steve carried out the electrical installation of the first phase of PV inverters at Peter Yealands winery, it was a ground-breaker for commercial solar systems in New Zealand, as it’s initial 99kWs of installed solar generation was the largest in NZ at that time.

Peter was so happy with the system’s performance, that he later tripled the size of the system, making it the largest solar generator in the south island.

Steve had the time of his life back in 2014, when he got to travel with his boss from Powersmart Solar and a specialised group of installers to carry out the installation of four utility scale solar systems complete with battery back up to power some of the larger populated islands in the Cooks.