Supa Energy

24/06/2026

We’re pretty excited to share that SUPA has been named a finalist in the Innovation in Energy category at the 2026 New Zealand Energy Excellence Awards.

Our entry: "Distributed power, private capital, community wins" captures what we’ve been building from the beginning.

What if schools, businesses and communities could become part of the energy system? What if private capital could fund local infrastructure instead of waiting for taxpayers or power companies to do it? What if the benefits stayed closer to home? These are the challenges we’ve been working on.

It’s also great to see distributed energy being recognised not just as a technology solution but as a better way to build infrastructure, strengthen communities and improve resilience.

A huge thanks to everyone who’s backed the journey so far. We’ve got plenty more to do, but it’s nice to pause for a moment and celebrate how far we’ve come.

04/06/2026

And that's another beautiful SUPA school hub under the belt, this time at Rotherham School in Rotherham (obviously).

This hub consists of 56 bifacial solar panels, a 30kW hybrid inverter, and a 20kWh battery system that now work together to help the school generate and store its own energy.

School hubs are about more than reducing power bills. They turn existing rooftops into local energy infrastructure, helping schools build resilience while creating long-term value for their communities.

A huge thank you to the team at Energon Electrical & Solar Ltd for delivering the installation and helping bring the project to life.

Every new hub is another step towards a more distributed, resilient energy system for New Zealand, with schools playing a leading role.

02/06/2026

One of our latest school energy hubs is now up and running at Oromahoe School, and they are hosting an afternoon to share more about the project, how it was built, and the benefits it's delivering to the school and wider community.

If you're in the area and interested in community energy, solar, or seeing what a local energy hub looks like in practice, come along and hear the story behind the build.

SUPA Energy Community Hub Launch

11/05/2026

Luke was on Breakfast on Friday morning, chatting to Tova O’Brien about the push to remove some of the red tape around solar installs, and why the government has a real opportunity to lead by example.

If solar makes sense for homes and businesses, it definitely makes sense for our government buildings, too.

New Zealand has thousands of large publicly owned rooftops that sit in the sun all day, every day. Schools, offices, community buildings - you name it, and the opportunity is massive.

If we’re serious about resilience, lower power costs and modernising the grid, it probably makes sense to start with the buildings we already own.

Watch the full interview here: youtube.com/watch?v=R5-0GEIQF7M&feature=youtu.be

08/05/2026

Next Friday, we’re hosting a Techweek NZ event at SUPA HQ alongside the Tech New Zealand Sustainability Board, bringing together people working across energy, clean tech, infrastructure, technology and business to talk about what actually moves the needle.

There’ll be some great people in the room from organisations helping shape the future of energy in Aotearoa, including OpenStar Technologies, Ara Ake, Tech New Zealand and SUPA.

We’ll be talking about where the energy transition is heading, why battery storage and decentralised infrastructure matter more than ever, what strong leadership looks like during periods of change, and why better outcomes usually come from getting more perspectives around the table.

Also, importantly, there will be drinks and nibbles. Which historically has helped New Zealand solve at least several problems.

Friday 22 May
3pm - 4:30pm
SUPA HQ, Auckland

Come along!

Register: https://events.humanitix.com/authentic-leadership-building-trust-currency

07/05/2026

Our CEO Luke Blincoe jumped on with Guyon Espiner on RNZ today to talk about the barriers slowing down solar adoption in New Zealand, why batteries are changing the equation, and why commercial rooftops, schools, community buildings and government infrastructure are such a massive opportunity for the country.

As power prices continue to climb in New Zealand, more people are looking for alternative solutions. At the same time, decentralised energy isn’t theoretical anymore. The economics are starting to look pretty good, especially as battery costs continue to fall.

There’s a huge opportunity already sitting on top of existing rooftops across the country, particularly larger commercial and community buildings that can generate, store, and intelligently use energy closer to where it’s needed.

Have a listen and let us know what you think - it's only seven minutes!

https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/middayreport/audio/2019034028/energy-boss-previews-government-s-solar-energy-announcement

04/05/2026

We’d argue you can’t get more quintessentially Kiwi than a regional community bowls club, and Kaikohe Bowling Club is no exception.

For a century, it has been more than a place to play bowls for Kaikohe. It has been a gathering place, a function room, a fundraising venue, a local fixture, and a building that helps hold a town together.

But like many clubs around New Zealand, KBC was facing a few hard realities. Costs have been rising, traditional revenue streams are getting tighter, and their roof was quite literally starting to lift in the wind.

So we helped fix the roof and turn it into something even more useful.

We not only replaced the roof but we also installed a 40kW solar system and a 30kW battery, turning the club into a working energy hub, all at no upfront cost to the club itself.

The system now generates around 50 MWh of clean energy a year; the club receives income for its power every month, with the energy generated on the roof flowing back into the local community at market-leading rates.

For us, this is exactly what distributed energy should look like. Practical, visible, commercially sound, and built around the organisations that already sit at the heart of their communities.

Today, it’s still the same quintessential Kiwi club it always was, only now it’s got a much sunnier future.

20/04/2026

For those of you who are new here, we’re SUPA.

We build and run solar energy infrastructure across New Zealand by installing solar panels on rooftops, pairing them with on-site batteries, and using software to manage how that energy flows and interacts with the grid.

Rather than generating power in one place and sending it long distances, we focus on producing it closer to where it’s actually used and managing it in a way that makes better use of the infrastructure already in place.

If you’re a business or commercial property owner with a suitable roof, you can be part of that. We turn those rooftops into energy hubs, handle the build and operation, and share the returns with the site and Kiwi households in the wider community.

This is already happening by the way! Plenty of schools, farms, marae and businesses are part of the SUPA network, generating, storing and using energy differently from how the system has traditionally worked (and making some income at the same time!).

So if you’ve got a commercial roof, there’s a fair chance you’re not far off being able to do the same. Feel free to reach out as we're always happy to have a chat about whether it’s a fit and what it could look like for your site.