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A finance scheme that would let homeowners spread the cost of rates and capital costs like solar panels over up to 30 years, could be in place by early next year.
The work is being led by Local Government New Zealand - which with several councils and the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority - is working on putting into place towards the end of the year a Ratepayer Assistance Scheme.
The scheme would be funded by central and local government support and offer loans at lower interest rates than commercial banks.
While at the same time it would be kept off council balance sheets to protect debt limits, while still allowing more housing growth as development levies could also be financed.
The project has also been supported by electrification advocates Rewiring Aotearoa for finance to cover conversions to electric appliances and household renewable energy - such as solar panels.
Scott Necklen is chief executive at LGNZ and is leading this work.
When Mike Casey bought his house near Cromwell, it came with gas bottles on the side of the home for water and an expensive diesel system for the underfloor heating. He replaced both of them with a Steibel Eltron system and it's been saving him money ever since. As technical manager Bhawesh Singh told him at the Electrify Queenstown conference, there has been a big influx in enquiries from homes looking to get off the molecules and onto electrons.
Read moreDownloadConfidence that cutting regulations to make solar power more accessible - won't jeopardise people's safety. A new Regulation Ministry reports laid out a potential blueprint to legalise plug-in solar and reduce the time and cost of panel installation. Rewiring Aotearoa CEO Mike Casey shares his thoughts with Andrew Dickens.
The burgeoning demand for solar was also a chance to address a mismatch between the numbers of training opportunities available and young people searching for work, Casey said. "The mums of New Zealand are telling me that there's not enough apprenticeships for their kids and the solar installers of New Zealand are telling me there's not enough trained people."
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