believe there is a far greater upside in being
able to offer consumers an alternative to plastic.
Thanks to an abundance of Hawke’s Bay
sunlight, Arataki Honey, the producers of New
Zealand’s favourite honey, will halve its annual
power bill.
The family-owned business, which celebrates
its 75th birthday this year, is investing in a solar
power installation at its production plant in
Havelock North.
Managers Pam and Rhys Flack say the move
to solar energy is another important step in
Arataki’s commitment towards improving its
environmental footprint.
“Arataki is also making processing changes
to favour daytime power usage, rather than
at night to maximise the benefits of the
installation.
“We’re aiming to halve our $50,000 annual
power bill with around seven years payback on
the capital cost,” they say.
Arataki hopes that its solar power investment
will also pave the way for more businesses to
follow, from seeing the environmental benefits
and energy cost savings.
The solar panels have a new bifacial feature to
increase the energy produced – they produce
power from both (not just one) sides of the
panel. The first stage of 88 solar panels are on
the north facing 600 square meter bee keeping
and storage facility. Stage two is a further
169 panels covering Arataki’s production and
packing plant.
The project, undertaken by Hawke’s Bay
business Ecoefficient Solutions NZ, will be
fully commissioned and operating in time for
Arataki’s busy spring pollination and honey
seasons.
Ecoefficient Solutions managing director Laura
Kerr, says she’s seen a big change in mindset
from business owners compared to three years
ago when solar was basically “not even on the
radar”.
“Hawke’s Bay and our abundance of sunlight
hours makes solar power one of the best ways
we can help towards reducing our carbon
footprint as a region.
“Arataki is leading by example and the project
is a fantastic opportunity to help showcase the
benefits and proven cost savings so we can
encourage more and more businesses to invest
in solar,” she says.
Rhys Flack says, “The seasonal nature of
Arataki’s production dovetails into the peak
solar generation months. During winter, we
expect to need a small power top up but in
Spring and Summer excess power will be fed
into the national grid."
The investment in solar power at the Havelock
North site compliments the Arataki Honey
ECOEFFICIENT
SOLUTIONS
MANAGING
DIRECTOR LAURA
KERR, S A Y S
S H E ’ S S E E N A
B I G C H A N G E I N
MINDSET FROM
BUSINESS OWNERS
COMPARED TO
THREE YEARS AGO
WHEN SOLAR WAS
B A S I C A LLY “ N O T
EVEN ON THE
RADAR”
12 SEPTEMBER 2019