Raglan wastewater treatment plant goes solar

Solar power will soon be offsetting the power used at Raglan’s wastewater treatment plant.  

The solar array, made up of 392 interconnected solar panels, is an important project towards reducing Waikato District Council’s greenhouse gas emissions. 

With an expected 30-year life cycle, each solar panel delivers 460 watts. These panels connect to two 110kW inverters which convert the direct current power to the alternating current electricity and feed the power directly back into the grid.  

The project began in late August, led by Waikato District Council and water delivery partner, Watercare, in a joint venture with Vector Powersmart.

Council’s General Manager, Service Delivery, Roger MacCulloch acknowledges the importance of using solar power and says it is a step forward in Council’s climate action response. 

“The solar array will generate sufficient power to cover the total water and wastewater energy usage costs within Whaingaroa, an important step in Council’s commitment to reducing operational emissions,” says Mr MacCulloch.  

The solar panels at Raglan generate power to operate the wastewater treatment plant and surplus generation is fed into the national grid.

Senior Advisor for Climate Action, Rachael Goddard is pleased to see Council committing to initiatives that address climate change climate, whilst delivering on an important aspiration of the Whaingaroa community.  

“The project aligns to the ongoing work Council is doing around planning adaptation and mitigation to build resilience around climate change. 

“It is encouraging to see Waikato District Council leading various operations projects that support New Zealand’s climate change commitments to reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 50% by 2030,” says Ms Goddard. 

The solar array project is expected to be completed in the next few weeks.