"As the Middle East conflict drives up on-farm costs and prompts thousands of farmers to explore solar, ASB has extended its SMART Solar Loan and upgraded its solar planning tools. ASB SMART Solar helps farmers control their energy resilience and costs by generating their own power. Providing up to $150,000 interest-free for five years on solar and battery systems, the award-winning offer has now been extended to June 2027 ... Research by energy transition charity Rewiring Aotearoa for ASB found that while there was 66% latent demand for electrification among farmers, the high upfront installation cost was the key barrier to uptake. Rewiring Aotearoa CEO Mike Casey says: 'We're seeing plenty of demand for solar, batteries and other electric upgrades in the rural sector right now as the price of grid electricity and imported fuels rises. Our research has shown that solar offers big savings, increased resilience and emissions reductions, so it's great ASB is helping to unlock that potential.'"