Education Lodge Leading the way with Solar

Teaching through action

Borland Lodge Adventure and Education Trust are leading the way by investing in one of Southland’s largest Solar PV systems, the system will help reduce energy costs on-site and provide a valuable education example for school students who visit the lodge.

Awarua Synergy is proud to have worked with Borland Lodge and Venture Southland on one of the largest solar installs in Southland.  Our team have installed a 24 kW solar photovoltaic system, this includes 3 arrays of 30 panels in each array with a total of 90 panels.   

Borland Lodge Adventure and Education Trust is a Charitable Trust is a regional outdoor educational facility which serves schools and community groups throughout Southland as well as many Otago groups. Borland Lodge is situated at the gateway to Fiordland National Park in southern New Zealand – a World Heritage area. It is 12km west of the Southern Scenic Route, between Lake Manapouri and Lake Monowai, south of Te Anau.

Borland Lodge has been operating for 40 years and the trust recently completed an upgrade of the existing facilities and has built new accommodation, eco-centre and amenity facilities at the camp. The Manapouri – Invercargill transmission line traverses through the lodge site. The building of the Manapouri power station and the transmission line has been a strong element of the lodge heritage, which was the location of the Pig Creek construction camp. Energy is a significant operating cost and this project is aimed at both reducing the energy cost as well as promoting the benefits of renewable energy and the role of the grid in the distribution of power.

This is a ‘non-profit’ ‘public good facility’ caters for the outdoor education needs of 150 schools, community groups and territory institutions from throughout Southland and Otago. The project will contribute directly to the community as the facility provides over 1000 bed nights per month in support of the many programmes which run from Borland Lodge.

Energy efficiency and electricity interpretation is an important aspect of the Borland experience. The Borland Lodge Adventure and Education Trust have been fundraising for capital cost contributions for a solar photovoltaic (PV) system at the lodge.

This project has provided an opportunity to develop the skills of the community and industry as well as creating awareness of energy technology and a focus on educational and ongoing interpretation opportunities.

This solar PV project will provide a sustainable future beyond the support of the Trust support as any funding assistance will contribute to the capital cost for the PV system. The lodge manager will carry out routine maintenance and panel wash down and any ongoing maintenance will be covered initially by the supplier, inverter and panel guarantees.

The next stage of the project will be installing education billboards to explain how solar works and the display of the solars daily production.