Community Energy takes many forms from bolstering energy security and reducing emissions, to building resilience and promoting equity. Where could Community Energy fit into your community? Members of the Canterbury Energy Wellbeing Collective share their experiences from four different South Island Community Energy projects. Hear about their experiences getting their community based, and owned, initiatives underway. This event was part of our Sustainable Spring programme and took place at Tautoru/TSB Space, Hapori | Community | Level 1, Tūranga on Thursday 8 October 2026 from 6pm to 7.30pm.
Watch the video of the Speaker Series on YouTube
Speakers
Margarita Parra / MC
The MC for the evening was Margarita Parra, a community mover and environmental justice advocate. Margarita has worked in Latin America and the U.S. reducing transport pollution by promoting electric bikes, cars, buses, and trucks. She was involved in bringing the first electric transit buses in Bogotá, and electric school buses in the US. Margarita is a committee member for the Lyttelton Energy Transition Society–LETS and of Drive Electric New Zealand.
Wendy Everingham / Lyttelton Energy Transition Society
Wendy Everingham is a founding member and Co-Chair of LETS - Lyttelton Energy Transition Society. She has spent the last twenty-three years working in community development helping to build a more resilient Lyttelton. Areas she has worked in have included improving food security, restoring nature, strengthening neighbourhood connections, sustainable transport and now she's focusing on community energy to ensure a resilient local network, affordable energy for all and further our decarbonisation goals.
Kate Hodgins / Castle Hill Community Energy Project
Kate Hodgins is a founding member of the Castle Hill Community Energy Project, based at Castle Hill village in Selwyn. She has a background in research and international business development. The project was started in 2024 by a small group of enthusiastic residents looking for ways to reduce the environmental impact and increase the resilience of the village, which sits in the Alpine Fault zone. The project was fortunate to be included in the 2024 Orion/AraAke/CEN Energy Activator and benefited from the expertise of their mentor, ex- Transpower CEO Bill Heaps. Since then, the project group have worked closely with Orion and Selwyn District Council, and the project was awarded Community Resilience Energy Funding (CREF) from the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA). This will enable Part One of the project, a resilience-focused solar and battery system, which will be installed later this year on the village hall.
Richard Coulter/ Tākaka Cohousing Neighbourhood
Richard Coulter has over 40 years in the electrical industry. He spent the past three decades with a Global multi-national Energy Management company and held various leadership industry roles across Asia Pacific. He is an early owner and member of the Tākaka Cohousing Neighbourhood, constructed as an environmentally friendly, sustainable neighbourhood designed to enhance wellbeing and encourage connections among residents. The aspiration is for the village to be “a replicable model of sustainable living ... that tread[s] lightly on the earth”. Supported by Richard’s expertise, the community elected to put in a Central PV Solar System to build resilience in and enable communal savings on every homeowner's power bill.
Bailey Perryman / Te Pā Foundation
Bailey Perryman works with Te Pā Foundation on the development of Te Pā o Rākaihautū, a kaupapa Māori learning village being planned across Ōtautahi and Te Waipapa, Diamond Harbour. Te Pā is exploring how community-owned energy can become part of a wider living infrastructure system that supports education, whānau wellbeing and restoration of the whenua. The vision includes solar generation across buildings and land, potential agrivoltaics combining energy and food production, electric transport, energy storage and opportunities to share surplus energy with whānau and strengthen local resilience. Rather than treating energy as a hidden utility, the project asks how infrastructure itself can become part of the learning environment - helping the next generation understand, operate and ultimately reshape the systems that sustain their communities.
Here's a booklist of the latest, recommended titles for this topic:
Is there another way to do energy in Aotearoa? Community Energy takes many forms from bolstering energy security and reducing emissions, to building resilience and promoting equity. This list is for those looking to learn more about the climate solutions available to us in Aotearoa. Be inspired!
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