Claris Club and Conference Centre are at the heart of the community in the south of Aotea / Great Barrier Island, hosting everything from yoga classes to Halloween parties.
Over the past few years, the buildings have been able to rely on solar power thanks to capital grant funding from Aotea / Great Barrier Local Board.
“The idea used to be that we’d turn the generator on when we got to work, and three hours later the chiller would start chilling down,” says Linda Rowe who is on the committee of the Claris Club and also bartends there.
“Since we installed our new power system, the chiller works all the time. And so it’s coming up to our second summer [since the solar system was installed] and we have cold beer. That’s the best part.”
Claris Club is open three nights a week and is a popular spot for locals to socialise or enjoy a meal after playing sports.
Linda says using solar power makes the club more financially viable.
“It used to cost us about $1k a month for diesel to power the generator. We've more than halved our costs.”
The latest grant has gone towards upgrading the batteries at the conference centre.
“The batteries were about 15 years old, and they were so drained that sometimes people would come to use the space and they wouldn’t be able to turn the lights on. It was so essential that we replaced the batteries,” says Linda.
“We took the old (but still useable) solar panels off Claris Club and put them on the conference centre, and just got replacement batteries.”
Home to yoga, kickboxing and tai chi classes, the venue also hosts Aotea Growers and Makers Market once a month, community meetings, and some big festivals.
Aotea / Great Barrier Local Board accepts applications for capital grant funding twice a year. Read more about this grant programme.
Stay up to date
Sign up for Aotea / Great Barrier Local Board E-news and get monthly updates direct to your inbox.
