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More strong signals from the Government that it's focusing on lowering bills and embracing solar as projects in Rakiura / Stewart Island, Bay of Plenty and Hawke's Bay get loans of up to $28.1 million combined. "Solar power is playing an increasingly important role in increasing electricity generation in New Zealand. It will help us reach our renewable energy targets and bolster the security and affordability of our energy supply,” says Energy Minister Simon Watts.
The coalition Government, which has promised to double renewable generation by 2050, says these projects will create up to 150 jobs.
The three projects are:
The Rakiura/Stewart Island project is expected to reduce diesel consumption by 200,000 litres within two years of beginning. During construction, about 40 high-skilled workers will be required.
When complete, more competitive energy costs will help business growth on the island including in aquaculture, tourism and hospitality.
The Ongaonga solar farm will improve electricity network resilience and support more competitive pricing for residents and commercial customers. Power could also be supplied to the national grid at peak generation. About 80-100 roles are expected to be needed during construction.
The Te Kaha project will provide more reliable, competitively priced power for a Māori community that regularly suffers electricity outages. The solar farm battery will have storage capacity for up to 72 hours which will protect the community from power outages. Reliable power will also help the Ōpōtiki region with its bid to be an aquaculture centre of national significance. During construction, up to 12 people will be employed.
"Solar power is playing an increasingly important role in increasing electricity generation in New Zealand. It will help us reach our renewable energy targets and bolster the security and affordability of our energy supply,” Mr Watts says.
“The Government has been making great progress on a series of exciting new solar and battery initiatives recently. I look forward to seeing these three projects make a real difference for these communities."
Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson travelled to Rakiura for the announcement today. He said the project should lead to considerable savings for residents.
“The Regional infrastructure Fund is contributing to energy security where communities cannot gain investment from other sources, and there are wider benefits for the communities,” Mr Patterson says.
Minister Simon Watts has also made changes to incentivise residential and farm solar in recent weeks, as this video outlines.
"This is really positive narrative that the Minister is embracing. And it's a narrative we're very familiar with because it's all about lowering bills, lowering emissions and improving our resilience and fuel security by using more renewable electricity - plenty of it from our rooftops - in more efficient electric machines," says Rewiring Aotearoa CEO Mike Casey. "There are some things the Government is doing that we don't agree with but the changes he and his team have announced around solar recently are to be commended. We need much more - and we especially need to help everyone access those savings, not just those with means. This is why we're working so hard on electrification loans through the Ratepayer Assistance Scheme as we believe that will be a huge unlock."
He says it's clear that rooftop solar reduces costs for households and it also augments our world-leading hydro scheme well. Larger solar projects like the ones just announced will also lower bills, although not by as much, and improve the region's resilience. When the sun isn't shining and the wind isn't blowing, as the Minister says, there should be less need for fossil fuels now because batteries are growing in popularity and the price continues to fall so they will play a crucial role.
"We still need to fix the settings so that customers are fairly rewarded for contributing to the energy system with their solar and batteries and we would love to see the Minister create an even stronger signal, put some money where his mouth is and do what the Australian Government has done with solar and battery incentives."
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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