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Rooftop residential solar is having a moment in the sun, with one company reporting a 50 percent increase in sales. Lightforce Solar, a nationwide installer, is opening a new branch in Queenstown. The company says its sales are up 50 percent this month on the same time last year. Figures from the Electricity Authority also show in the 12 months to March, there have been 10,344 new residential solar installations, up four percent on the previous 12 month period. Canterbury is leading the pack with 2101 new residential solar installations, followed by Auckland with 1200 and Wellington with 1099. John Harman, owner of Light Force Solar, spoke to Lisa Owen.
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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