Sun, Power and the Todd Corp: The Story of Sunergise
This Climate Business
English - August 17, 2020 01:00 - 48 minutes - 44.7 MBBusiness News Business News emissions environmental environmental science sustainability zero emissions Homepage Download Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
The sun is the greatest source of free energy for the Earth – so why don’t we tap into it more? The team at Sunergise are changing that on an industrial scale. Sunergise is a Kiwi solar energy company that got its start in 2012 by building the world’s largest solar installation for a marina at Port Denarau in Fiji. Since then it has expanded across the Pacific and NZ and has just welcomed a major investment by Todd Generation, a subsidiary of Todd Corp, one NZ’s largest investment companies, famous for its oil and gas business. To talk about Todd, the journey to get here and the future of solar I was joined by directors Paul Makumbe, Lachlan McPherson and Nick Worthington. I started by asking Paul just how the company began.
Founded in 2012 as the first pan-Pacific solar power utility by a group of entrepreneurs and veteran investors including ANZ Oceania CEO Bob Lyon.
Our mission is to secure a brighter, more productive future for the people of New Zealand and the Pacific Islands by providing high quality, clean, affordable energy. Increasing solar in the energy mix helps to reduce crippling fuel import bills and protect the natural environment that entices visitors from all over the world. In partnership with our customers, Sunergise is rapidly accelerating the adoption and installation of solar PV panels in the Pacific region. Our solar power creates energy independence and protection from rising oil prices. As part of developing a business with sustainability at its core, we aim to make clean energy affordable to all.
About Sunergise
Sunergise began operations with the introduction of the world’s largest installation for a marina at Port Denarau in Fiji.In 2014 The World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) took a stake in the business.The Sunergise group is the leading solar power services company in the Pacific Island region, with a growing portfolio of solar projects in Niue, Nauru, New Zealand, Fiji, Vanuatu, Marshall Islands, Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands.In 2019 Todd Corporation via Todd Generation Limited took a majority stake in Sunergise New Zealand Limited and Sunergise International Limited.The investment will boost solar power generation in New Zealand and the Pacific Islands.To date over 13 MW of clean power has been installed and over 20 gigawatt-hours of electricity produced by Sunergise.