TE ŌHANGA MAURI - PRIORITY #4 - SECURE OUR ENERGY SOVEREIGNTY
The Fragility of the Colonial Grid
Northland’s infrastructure is currently "brittle" because it relies on a single, linear thread connected to Auckland. When that thread breaks—like the 2024 pylon collapse—our whole region falls into disorder, costing our local economy between $37.5 million and $80 million in lost productivity.
This problem exists because of "linear thinking": a centralised system that treats the North as a dependent end-point rather than a powerhouse. We have immense local energy potential in our ground and our sun, yet we remain vulnerable to single points of failure that create "friction" and waste in our daily lives.
10 Steps to Secure Our Future
We can build a resilient North by moving toward "Distributed Sovereignty" with these actionable steps:
Island the North: Expand the Ngāwhā geothermal plant so it can provide 70% of our region's baseload power, allowing us to stay powered even if the national grid fails.
Build a "Mesh Network": Replace the one-way "colonial grid" with a web of interconnected local power sources to stop single points of failure.
Deploy Marae Micro-Grids: Equip every marae, school, and papakāinga with solar panels and battery storage so they can act as energy hubs during emergencies.
Launch the Ngaohu Currency: Start using a regional currency backed by the Kilowatt-Hour (kWh) to keep our energy wealth circulating right here in the North.
Expand "Solar Sovereignty": Develop large-scale solar farms, like the one at Ruakākā, to turn Taitokerau into a net exporter of green energy.
Fix the Roads for the Future: Move beyond just patching potholes and build an expressway that connects our local "Economic Pā" hubs securely.
Support Shared Community Transport: Use our local energy to power electric vehicle fleets for whānau who currently lack reliable transport.
End Energy Poverty: Use the savings from local micro-grids to lower power bills for whānau who struggle with rising costs.
Invest in "Bio-Energy": Convert forestry waste wood into clean fuel at Ngāwhā to power local homes and businesses instead of leaving it on hillsides.
Measure Regional Resilience: Use the "Mauri Model" to ensure every new bridge or power line actually increases our regional strength and resilience (+2 Mauri Ora).
Making It Happen
Key Stakeholders: Top Energy, Ngāwhā Generation, local Iwi and Hapū authorities, and our Regional and District Councils.
Theoretical Minimum Time Frame: 5 to 10 years to achieve full energy independence and a resilient transport network.
Who benefits from things staying as they are?: Centralised power companies and offshore shareholders who profit from our dependency and the "friction" caused by an inefficient system.
Who benefits from this solution?: Local businesses who will never face another multi-million dollar blackout, whānau who get cheaper power, and our grandchildren who will inherit a grid that cannot be broken.
