Energise Ōtaki: Finding Belonging in Energy-resilience

Miro Fisch

Energy. It drives every process in the world, from you reading this article, to powering entire cities. Many people would likely consider themselves energy-conscious – whether it's turning off lights when they aren’t needed, or catching the bus when convenient. But how often do we truly reflect on the way we get and use energy in its entirety?

In 2010, at the Ōtaki Clean Technology Centre, seeds of ideas about transforming Ōtaki into a pioneer in energy sustainability started to sprout. This idea grew into what is now called the Energise Ōtaki Charitable Trust.

A Green Chip report from the New Zealand Green Investment Finance initiative revealed in 2013 that the Ōtaki was only 37% efficient in turning energy into useful power or heat. For committed locals, this was a sign that there was no turning back - they were determined to flip that low statistic on its head. Now, in 2024, Energise Ōtaki leads and supports a range of different projects that advance energy access, clean energy, climate energy, and energy recovery.

Driven by a vision that there should be ‘enough good energy for everyone’, mentioned in their mission statement, Energise Ōtaki aims to give community members more social, physical, and economic control over their energy future. Ōtaki can be a place where people can live with ‘enough’ energy - what they need but not more than what they need. This energy can be considered ‘good’ energy - sourced and consumed in a way that promotes both environmental and human wellbeing.

With a passion for change, this small, but mighty, organisation shines a light on the transformative potential of a community wealth building (CWB) approach, where wealth and energy generated within a community is held and invested back into the local economy for the benefit of everyone. Wealth in this sense are the collective assets - social, intellectual, cultural, financial, etc. - that a community owns or controls that enables members of the community to care for one another and the natural environment.

Energize Ōtaki

Significant progress for Energise Ōtaki came with the establishment of Aotearoa's first community-owned solar farm, the Rau Kūmara system. Its 240 panels (107 kWp/ peak power) provide electricity for the Ōtaki Wastewater Treatment Plant next door, 52 panels (23kWp) supply Ōtaki College, and excess energy is sold back to the grid. Using money generated from the solar farm, this goes into the Whakahiko Ōtaki–Energise Ōtaki Fund, which is used to bring other community empowerment initiatives to life.

Speaking with the organisation’s chair and founding member, Leigh Ramsey, he shared how the fund is investing in more sustainable energy practices. “Energy is broader than just plugging a device into a socket or putting fuel into your car, it's also crucially about the energy that goes into creating our food,” Ramsey said.

A significant number of initiatives supported by the Ōtaki–Energise Ōtaki Fund have had a unique focus on promoting community-based food production, such as the provision of gardening equipment to the local school. Ramsey emphasises the impact of this work. “Community initiatives, even on a small scale, can significantly enhance energy resilience, particularly amid increasing disruptions to supply chains”.

These initiatives embody the best parts of the community wealth building approach. Looking at pillar 3 of the CWB toolkit – investing locally – The Whakahiko Ōtaki–Energise Ōtaki Fund highlights how facilitating new forms of generative (rather than extractive) economic activity, can put us one step closer towards a circular economy.

Ōtaki Repair Cafe

Another important project run by the organisation is the Ōtaki Repair Café. For Ramsey, the Repair Cafe is an important initiative for the organisation. “This project offers an innovative approach that empowers locals to repurpose and fix things that otherwise would have been chucked out, centred around a right-to-repair model”. Equipping community members with tools, both in a literal and figurative sense, empowers them to repair items like gadgets and bikes, while also strengthening local capacity.

Drawing on the wealth of skills offered by Ōtaki residents yields energy benefits such as reducing waste and avoiding unnecessary consumption, while also cultivating a sense of belonging and purpose among those involved. The repair cafe is not just in the business of fixing what is old, but also building new skills and relationships. Ramsey reflects that, at its essence, “people feel good knowing that they have helped someone”. This project illustrates how pillar 1 of the CWB approach – harnessing spending and local supply chains – can make communities more energy efficient and foster meaningful connections and skills.

One of Energise Ōtaki’s newer projects is the Ōtaki Carbon Forests. “This project came out of a holistic underlying ambition of the organisation to make the town energy positive and produce more energy than it consumes,” Ramsey said. Under this project, Ōtaki could become a net exporter of energy, displacing part of the carbon produced through the planting of native rakau. Though the project is still growing into itself, there have already been a number of exciting collaborations between the organisation and landowners to organise planting bees.

The story of Energise Ōtaki shows us that being more attentive to the way we consume and source energy does not demand a complete overhaul of our ways of living. Even seemingly small acts like planting a native tree, repairing a broken bike, or growing a vegetable garden, can have a significant impact in creating a more energy resilient future.

Energise Ōtaki’s mahi is a living example of how we can start reshaping our towns and cities to thrive within social and ecological boundaries by tapping into community wealth. Through building sustainable, energy-resilient solutions, Ōtaki is now better positioned to confront threats to Te Taiao and community health, all while celebrating and nurturing the best parts of community life.

In less than 15 years, Energise Ōtaki has evolved into a crucial anchoring institution hub where dedicated locals unite their energy, and commitment, to take care of one another. Let this be an inspiration for us to ignite similar mahi in our own communities.

Miro is an active supporter of WEAll Aotearoa, active member of his community on Waiheke, and works at Oxfam Aotearoa.