increase font size
Having solar farms in the midst of Marlborough’s wine industry could be an in-situ solution to decarbonisation.
Marlborough Lines has launched SolarFlex Commercial and is talking to several wine companies and one grape grower about the possibility of repurposing paddocks or vineyards into solar arrays between the Waihopai River and Cloudy Bay area, says Marlborough Lines Business Development Manager Mark Unwin.
Each project requires a minimum of 2 hectares of flat land, but with many Marlborough vineyards due for redevelopment, some operators could see the solar array and grazing as a better investment than grapes for certain parcels of land, Mark says.
Solar photo-voltaic generation could provide a power source for a winery’s immediate needs, reducing a company’s Scope 2 emissions, while also preparing for the electrification of tractors, sprayers, water pumps and other vineyard operations, he says.
Alternatively, Marlborough Lines can lease the land and sell the power back to the network, in which case wine companies can still offset some emissions through Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs), which track the generation of electricity from renewable sources like wind, solar or hydro.
“There’s a nice meeting of Marlborough Lines as a community asset, the high sunshine hours in Marlborough, and industry.”
The arrays would be installed and maintained by Marlborough Lines, which sells the power to the winery or the network. Yealands worked with Marlborough Lines on the 4,000-kilowatt Seaview Solar Farm, which has been producing power since 2024. Sustainability Manager Andree Piddington says the power supply supplements Yealands’ own rooftop array. “It means that we are buying local RECs and are not only able to use them against the winery, but also vineyard electricity. It means our Scope 2 emissions are zero in relation to power.”
marlboroughlines.co.nz/energy-marlborough
A high-resolution vineyard view of ecoclimatic indicators, and how they impact wine quality, can turn “climate insights into strategy”, says climate risk specialist Pete Taylor. “Whether you’re a grower, winemaker, or industry leader, understanding the future is key to staying ahead.”
I like to think that when Simon Sharpe and Lauren Keenan heard they'd been named The Real Review Rising Star of the Year, they cried out "miladiou!"
David Herd broke boundaries when he planted Marlborough's first vineyard in 1892, surrounded by sheep and crops.
There’s no one single recipe for careful winegrowing, said Craggy Range viticulturist Jonathan Hamlet. “But it is actually ok to cherry pick all the things that work.”
A new earthworm soil test is offering insights into the biological health of New Zealand vineyards.
