'This car can...' Check out our new campaign
We're all for getting schools off the diesel and onto electrons - and we're also big fans of solar on schools. In Christchurch, Hornby High School has done just that and its system currently ranks as the biggest of any school in New Zealand.
While some schools fundraise to buy their own solar, Hornby High worked with Cog, which offered a 25 year behind the meter power purchase agreement for the 200kW-ish system. This meant it cost the school nothing upfront and provides discounted power from day one (but it also means that it won't get the full benefit of the solar savings).
As Penny Devine, deputy chair of the Board of Trustees says, "we couldn't see any downsides to be honest."
COG's Chris Conner says using schools are a pretty good fit for solar given they're in use all day when the generation is happening, as are factories or commercial buildings.
There are no batteries at the school yet, but Conner says there's a big opportunity for them to play a role in the energy system by feeding power back during evening peaks. They could also play an important resilience role in the event of a disaster by keeping the power on and acting as a community hub.
Deputy principal Ruth Robertson says the students love the solar and one student she talked to recently had included panels on a design for a home. She wonders if he would have included them if the system wasn't up on the roof and thinks it's great that it's being normalised.
It's not just about putting solar on schools, it's about getting solar into schools, as well.
A proposal to let people install solar panels and other green technology using low-interest loans from their council needs to go ahead "as soon as possible", its proponents say. The government asked Local Government New Zealand to present its business case for the proposed Ratepayer Assistance Scheme (RAS) in late 2025. However, ministers still had not made any decisions about whether to go ahead with the scheme - which would let councils provide long-term loans to any homeowner who wanted to access them. That's despite growing political support from parties across the spectrum.
Read moreDownloadQueenstown, New Zealand (18 May 2026) Leading politicians debated New Zealand's energy future on the second day of Electrify Queenstown 2026 today. The sold-out session, moderated by journalist Paddy Gower, opened with speeches from Deputy Prime Minister and ACT Party Leader Hon. David Seymour, Labour Leader Rt Hon. Chris Hipkins, Energy Minister Hon. Simeon Brown, New Zealand First Co-Leader and Associate Energy Minister Hon. Shane Jones, Green Party Co-Leader Chlöe Swarbrick, and The Opportunities Party Leader Qiulae Wong.
Read moreDownloadDiesel generators, you're cooked! We’ve seen a few of our electric communities plug in to their EVs at small events and that's great to see, but Hamish Roberge from Tom Tom Productions in Queenstown has developed a solution that can be rolled out for bigger gigs. Roberge is currently on the job delivering the third Electrify Queenstown conference and it was during last year's conference that he was inspired to create NRG Event Batteries.
Read moreDownload
