Who we are

Who is Pioneer Energy Group?

Founded in 1920 and now owned by Central Lakes Trust, we’re committed to changing the way customers and communities use energy solutions. We invest in energy solutions to provide customers with alternatives to mainstream utilities for future generations.

Pioneer Energy Group and it’s subsidiaries have supplied renewable power to New Zealand businesses and communities for more than 80 years and in the last 10 years has diversified energy services capabilities to supply both heat and power markets. Together with our subsidiaries own and operate wind farms and hydro schemes that generate enough clean energy to power around 33,000 homes each year and save the emissions of around 57,500 tonnes of carbon annually.

Our community roots are through our historical relationship wit the Central Lakes Trust and extend to our partnerships with regional stakeholders and communities throughout New Zealand.

We look forward to working alongside our partners, Manawa Energy and the local community.

Manawa Energy Logo

Who is Manawa Energy?

Manawa Energy is an NZX-listed company and Aotearoa New Zealand’s largest independent electricity generator and renewables developer. Our head office is in Tauranga, and we have 26 power schemes throughout New Zealand and generate around 5% of the country’s electricity.

Manawa (meaning ‘heart’ in te reo Māori) acknowledges our heritage establishing electricity generation on the Omanawa River in the Kaimai area during the 1900s. Our name was gifted by the Ngāti Hangarau hapū, mana whenua of the area where our Kaimai hydropower scheme is located.

We are developing new, renewable electricity generation opportunities to meet growing demand, and to support a thriving, low-emissions future. We have extensive experience developing and operating renewable energy assets, including pioneering the development of wind generation in New Zealand and Australia (when we were known as Trustpower).

Meet the Team

  • Peter McClean

    PROJECT SPONSOR
    GM, PIONEER ENERGY RENEWABLES

    Peter has held various electrical engineering roles prior to moving into senior management. As Pioneer Energy Renewables General Manager, Pete leads the operational and maintenance teams who look after all of Pioneer Energy Renewables’ assets.

    He is also responsible for the project delivery and development team. For the Kaihiku Wind Farm development, Pete’s role is to lead the project team. Pete will oversee the entire project ensuring the team work collaboratively to progress the project.

  • Richard Spearman

    PROJECT SPONSOR
    GM MARKET OPERATIONS, MANAWA ENERGY

    Richard has over 30 years’ experience in the electricity industry. Richard is focused on developing renewable generation projects that include long term relationships with partners and communities. Richard has a formal engineering and business background and has led projects ranging from real-time distribution network and generation operations to transmission systems engineering, IT and OT systems, regulatory, metering, energy trading and generation development.

    Richard has been actively involved in all of Manawa Energy’s wind developments, which to date exceed 500 MW and NZ$1B. He is a member of Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and the Institute of Directors.

  • Chris Baldwin

    DEVELOPMENT PROJECT MANAGER
    WIND FARM LIMITED PARTNERSHIP

    Chris is originally from the UK and moved to New Zealand in 2007. He was a Senior Project Manager for Meridian Energy for over nine years. More recently he was Wind Operations Manager for a fund management company based in Australia. He has a degree in construction management and is a certified project management professional.

    Chris has spent most of his professional career managing and leading cross functional project and operational teams. He has over twenty years of design, construction, project and management experience gained working in a diverse range of sectors. His engineering knowledge and background includes; civil engineering, structural engineering, land surveying, mechanical and electrical engineering.

  • Tony Jack

    PROJECT ENGINEERING LEAD
    DEVELOPMENT ENGINEER, PIONEER ENERGY RENEWABLES

    Tony is an experienced Civil Engineer who has worked for Pioneer Energy for the past 12 years. In his time at Pioneer Tony has successfully led the development and construction of two of Pioneer’s three operational wind farms. Tony is also responsible for civil asset management across Pioneer’s assets and is heavily involved in any resource consent management activities.

    Tony has a very practical approach to engineering design and management. On the Kaihiku Wind Farm development Tony’s primary role will be to oversee and scope engineering design aspects and complete technical review of resource consent assessments.

  • Jim Pearson

    PROJECT ENGINEERING LEAD
    HEAD OF RENEWABLE DEVELOPMENT, MANAWA ENERGY

    Jim has over 30 years of project management experience in the energy industry (renewables and oil & gas). Over the past 18 years he has been heavily involved in the New Zealand and Australian wind sector from scoping, through to consenting, procurement, construction and commissioning. He has an extensive track record in project delivery (wind and hydro) and is a project management expert (PMI Project Management Professional).

    In the New Zealand and Australian market Jim has been responsible for the construction of over NZ$1B of wind sector assets in the past 12 years.

  • Ryan Park

    PROJECT CONSENTING LEAD
    RENEWABLE DEVELOPMENT MANAGER, MANAWA ENERGY

    Ryan has a strong commitment to sustainability and building enduring relationships within project communities and with key external stakeholders; and has 25 years of experience in environmental and project management across predominantly the energy and dairy sectors in New Zealand.

    Prior to joining Manawa in 2023, Ryan dedicated over a decade to driving Fonterra Manufacturing’s environmental and sustainability programmes and providing programme management support for major environmental capital projects.  Preceding that work for Fonterra, Ryan worked in several roles across the energy sector, both as a consultant and then as an environmental Advisor with Manawa (then Trustpower) where he supported the inception of the Waipipi Wind Farm development amongst other environmental projects.

  • Richard Turner

    PROJECT PLANNER
    CHIEF EXECUTIVE, MITCHELL DAYSH

    Richard is the Chief Executive of Mitchell Daysh, a resource management and planning consultancy with offices throughout New Zealand. He has been a resource management consultant with Mitchell Daysh since 2010 and has been working in the resource management sector for 24 years. Richard has prepared a number of resource consent applications for infrastructure and resource use proposals around New Zealand, and was the planner for the consenting of the Waipipi Wind Farm in South Taranaki in 2016 / 2017 and the Kaiwaikawe Wind Farm near Dargaville in 2020 – 2022.