solarZero Te Ra gin,
sunshine in a bottle
ALL
POWER
TO IT
Te Rā solar powered
gin a Kiwi first
Alex Kirichuk, Puhoi Organic Distillery and Chris Burman, solarcity.
C R E AT E C L E A N
SolarZero Puhoi Distillery
With the onset of
spring, solarcity
New Zealand has
partnered with
Puhoi Organic Distillery to
launch Te Rā, New Zealand’s first
solar-powered distilled gin.
The juniper-rich, apple and saffron
infused gin, crafted in Puhoi,
is made using the power of the
sun thanks to the solarZero solar
energy service from solarcity.
Puhoi Organic Distillery’s artisan
gin craftsman, Alex Kirichuk, had
been looking for ways to power
his gin distillery more sustainably.
“We want to improve our process
to minimise the environmental
impact and long-term our goal is
to become carbon neutral. With
solarZero it means we can use the
power of the sun to reduce our
reliance on traditional grid power
and fossil fuels.
Gin and sunshine go hand in
hand and to celebrate this
we’ve captured sunshine in a
bottle by making Te Rā a sunny
yellow colour by infusing saffron
into the gin.”
While solarZero is primarily a
residential solar energy service,
when Alex contacted the solarcity
team, the opportunity to meet
his vision to run a predominantly
solar-energy run distillery was
a chance for the team to apply
solarZero’s service benefit to a
small business and home solution.
As Alex runs his distillery primarily
during the day but also needs
power to his home dwelling as
well, two solarZero systems
were installed to meet his needs.
Together the systems provide on
average 24kW per day from the
sun, accounting for 50% of Alex’s
power needs, halving his reliance
on expensive grid power, while
the battery is able to store excess
power generated by the solarZero
system and access to lowerpriced
renewable grid power
when needed.
Gareth Williams, solarcity NZ’s
head of energy services says,
“Our solarZero model meant Alex
could avoid an upfront installation
cost of $45,000 for the system
- instead he’ll pay a monthly
solar energy service fee and be
cost-neutral in the first year. Over
the next 20 years, he can expect
to save an estimated $27,000 on
power, so it’s a win-win - better
for his business and better for the
planet.”
Alex can now boast that his
distillery business is now part of
solarZero’s “Grid for Good” - a
community that is joining the
movement towards less reliance
on traditional grid power, by
utilising solar energy to power
homes across New Zealand.
Solarcity NZ founder and ceo,
Andrew Booth says, “Our
goal is to help Kiwis embrace
a cleaner, greener, smarter
energy solutions to meet New
Zealand’s goal to become 100%
renewable by 2035. Alex has an
inspiring green energy vision for
his distillery business and we’re
excited to be a part of it.”
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