Since the February 2011 earthquake, there’s been lots of talk about how Christchurch can rebuild in a green sustainable way. Our city’s newest subdivision will be doing just that – all 2200 homes at Highfield (near Belfast) will have solar panels.
Bridget Gourlay went to EnaSolar, the Christchurch company that designs and manufactures these devices, to find out more. She talks to the company’s business development manager Alan Booth.
Why solar – why is it such a good solution?
“Other than in city centres nearly everyone has a roof, the sun shines most days and it is unlimited and free natural resource. It’s a proven technology. Materials and installation costs are falling as the technology develops, there are no moving parts, and it’s quiet and efficient.”
How much can people actually save?
“Usually between a third to a half of their power consumption. The biggest issue is people don’t believe it works without bright sun. Actually, solar works on nearly every country on the planet… even in Scotland! You should put as much solar on your roof as you can afford to. A good consumer size should produce at least half of what you use and sometimes up to 75 to 100 percent. Some homes get paid back by the power company because they generate more than what their house consumes.”

What about when we don’t get enough sun?
“In Christchurch for example we can capture about 400-700 w/m2 most days. There are very few days when we do not have enough sun to run a solar inverter. Solar systems do not need bright cloudless direct sun all the time. They can generate power even on cloudy and rainy days; it will just be less efficient on those days.”
Isn’t it super expensive?
“The average price for a 3kw installation in Christchurch is about $12,000. Not a lot when you consider what it can save you over time when you know that power is only going to increase in price year on year.”
Who buys solar panels from your company – is it local businesses and homes, or do you sell to people overseas?
“We export the majority of our products to distributors and installers in the UK, western Europe and Australia. Globally, when we get our products in against the big global competitors we start to replace them. We aren’t cheaper – we don’t compete on price but on quality.
“New Zealand is however becoming much more aware of the benefits of a home solar installation and we have seen sharp increases in interest over the last 12 months for both domestic and commercial installations. We employ 200 people at this factory. We were in the red zone on Tuam Street and when it all fell we had to come here and had to rebuild, regrow, put it all back together.”
How do you recruit staff? Is this a specialist field or can any engineer/industrial designer be hired and trained up?
“Designing and developing an inverter is a highly complex undertaking and most of out staff are recruited locally as we all know New Zealanders are recognised globally as being innovative and technically astute. With regard to installing, most competent electricians with some specialist training from a manufacturer such as ourselves would be capable of the most complex installation.”

Do you see this field, of innovation around energy use, as being something New Zealand can really play a part in?
“New Zealand is ideally placed to be a leader in renewable energy. Most families live in their own home and every home has a roof that is in all likelihood suitable for solar installation.
There is a massive and long term export opportunity available to those willing to engage. This has recently been brought home and made highly visible with the rebuild of Christchurch. We are already working with private builders and developers around designing green buildings for the rebuild right from the planning stage. Solar is not being left to the end as a retro fit.
“The world will be watching what we do with Christchurch and we have an opportunity here that could potentially deliver massive foreign trade to those companies willing to get involved in the renewables sector and at the same time make New Zealand one of the lowest carbon contributors with the highest uptake of renewable energy sources. This can only be a good thing for all.”