'This car can...' Check out our new campaign
Despite the abrupt closure of SolarZero, Kiwis are still backing the technology and government data analysed by Harrison's shows that total solar capacity installed reached 665 MW last month, up 43% on the same time last year, and more than double the capacity of two years ago. If that continued, the country would be on track to generate the equivalent amount of solar energy needed to power every home in the country within the next seven years. With EECA research showing solar increasingly stacks up financially, tax changes like 'investment boost', and growth in the rural and SME sectors, the sector is taking off.
"Our analysis of Electricity Authority data shows that residential installations made up around 54% of total installed solar capacity last month. The number of Kiwi homes with rooftop solar is now almost 68,000 and growing at around over 8,700 annually. While it took NZ seven years to reach the first 100 MW in solar capacity, that same amount is now being added every 18 months," Harrisons managing director Phil Harrison said.
The total number of households integrating both solar and batteries has grown by 72 percent since July 2024.
Financial commentator Frances Cook uses her own story to show that that an investment in solar and an EV significantly outperforms the stock market and fellow number cruncher Nadine Higgins says that if you do it right, EVs are cheaper to run and own; EV sales have climbed to their highest level since 2022 and are closing in on 2023's numbers and Go Rentals has just invested $2.3 million in some new Tesla Model Y Premiums; the gap between energy costs of diesel vans and utes and electric vans and utes is absolutely massive; solar is also going off right now, with one installer in Otago 448% above their sales target in March; Lightforce has gone back to the Barretts with a new TV ad; Wellington mayor Andrew Little explains its electrification strategy and Hutt City Council shares data showing how its fleet has gone from dirty Toyotas to cleaner EVs; Shenzen in China has electrified its public transport and taxis and that's come with big benefits - and some challenges; and a very simple illustration of the LNG terminal.
Read moreDownloadAs Minister of energy, climate and local government, Simon Watts had a great opportunity to push the country towards cheaper, cleaner and more reliable New Zealand-made energy. And that’s why we laid down a challenge and gave him the ‘MegaWatts’ moniker last year. Rewiring Aotearoa CEO Mike Casey says he did some good things, like enabling more solar on farms, removing tax on solar exports, fixing onerous solar consenting requirements, putting pressure on the lines companies to pull up their socks, and getting the ball rolling on the Ratepayer Assistance Scheme. "But the LNG import terminal appears to have been a defining issue."
Read moreDownloadAfter ‘crunching the numbers’ and adding in new sources of ‘New Zealand-made energy’ to our equations, CEO Mike Casey has announced that Rewiring Aotearoa will be changing its name to Refuelling Aotearoa. There has been a huge amount of independently verified research showing electrification beats fossil fuels on economics, efficiency, emissions and energy security and that there is a huge opportunity for New Zealand to electrify, but the discovery of an infinite supply of snake oil in New Zealand has changed everything, he says.
Read moreDownload