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More good news for New Zealanders looking to reduce their energy bills and the country's emissions, with Ministers Simon Watts and Chris Penk announcing a number of incentives for residential solar that Rewiring Aotearoa had been advocating for.
The main changes are:
"These are really positive signals from the Government and a good package of incentives for homeowners, farmers and developers," says Rewiring Aotearoa CEO Mike Casey. "There have been a number of positive announcements for the rural sector recently, and we have been asking for more focus on New Zealand households that are losing faith (and money) in the energy system, so it's great to see more action in this space and we think it will speed up adoption and increase the size of the systems being installed."
Currently, there are arbitrary restrictions on the amount of power those with rooftop solar can export to the grid. Higher export limits should incentivise bigger systems to be installed and that will increase savings for homeowners and also help bring down the price of electricity for everyone on the network.
"It's important that the regulator enforce the networks to do what the Government has approved in the near future and we'll be keeping an eye on them to make sure it happens," he says. "We need them to fast track networks actually approving increased limits to 10kW and would expect all networks have this finished by the end of the year, and most should be able to do it within weeks."
Casey says the arbitrary 5kw export restrictions from the networks were based on everyone in the street having solar, but that is definitely not the reality in New Zealand at the moment.
"The networks will scream and shout about too much solar on the network but they're wrong. South Australia didn't start to see problems until they hit three to five times the amount of solar that New Zealand currently has and there are no problems now and some areas are at 70% penetration. New Zealand sits at around 3% and we are also doing this at a time when batteries and EVs are economic and can use a lot of that solar. Also, if the networks are worried about it, they have enough time to sort it out as demand grows."
Australia's average solar system is close to double the size of New Zealand's and Casey says that is partially due to solar installs being specced to the size of the export limit.
"The country is screaming out for more generation and we know there is currently spare solar energy being curtailed by the networks that could be helping in a dry year. We want to encourage the biggest possible solar systems because it reduces the costs for the homeowner and for everyone else on the network."
Casey says changes to consenting rules could be helpful for farmers wanting to install solar on existing buildings and the fast-tracking of consents for homes with solar is basically like a T2 lane on the motorway.
Discussions are ongoing about a long-term, low-interest loan scheme for electrification upgrades, which would include solar. This was deemed to be the most impactful idea in our recent policy manifesto and will help overcome one of the biggest barriers to uptake, upfront costs.
"We also know solar can be something of a gateway drug for EVs and help convince people to get off gas hot water, heating and cooking because when you're generating your own cheap energy on your roof, it makes sense to use as much of it as possible."
As the release says:
Common sense changes in the energy and building consent systems will drive greater residential solar uptake in New Zealand, Energy Minister Simon Watts and Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk say.
“New Zealand’s residential uptake of rooftop solar is lower than many other countries. This Government wants to change that so more Kiwis can generate, store, and send their own electricity back to the market. This will allow them to save on their power bills and contribute to a more secure electricity system,” Mr Watts says.
“Rooftop solar will play a crucial role in supporting energy security and reducing emissions. But our networks need to be able to better support the growing flow of electricity from consumers, while also dealing with growing demand for more electric vehicle charging.
“That’s why we are expanding the voltage range from +/- 6 percent to +/- 10 percent to manage the changing flow of electricity from rooftop solar and EV charging. This will future proof our electricity system and help electrify the economy.
“Modelling suggests this change could boost solar investment and overall generation by a whopping 507 GWh through increased solar connections. This is great for the security of our energy supply.”
Mr Penk says the building consent system can help accelerate the shift towards renewable energy.
“We need the right incentives in place to make rooftop solar a realistic option for Kiwis.
“The Government is focused on getting people into safe, affordable homes faster – and we want those homes to be sustainable and future-ready.
“With the energy system preparing for a surge in residential solar, the consenting process needs to play its part to support the transition.
“We are proposing changes to the Building Act, that will make it clear that a building consent is not needed to install rooftop solar panels on existing buildings.
“Right now, decision-making is inconsistent between councils – creating unnecessary barriers for homeowners who want to take responsibility for their environmental impact and make sustainable choices.
"As a further incentive, we are also proposing that Kiwis who choose to include solar panels in the design of new homes will have their entire building consent fast-tracked and processed in 10 working days instead of the standard 20 working days, saving Kiwis around $400 a day in time and consenting costs.”
“Delivering the best outcomes for New Zealanders is incredibly important to Minister Penk and me. Expanding the voltage range could help avoid hundreds of millions of dollars in infrastructure upgrade costs to accommodate rooftop solar and EV charging being passed on to Kiwi households,” Mr Watts says.
“Combined, these common-sense and cost-effective changes will boost the resilience of New Zealand’s electricity supply, make it easier and cheaper for Kiwis to build sustainable homes, and spur New Zealand’s residential solar market into the future.”
Notes to editors:
In the last Electric Avenue of 2025, we look at the two biggest trends in the world of energy; the Government goes electric for its fancy fleet upgrade; Nick Offerman offers his services to a US campaign extolling the virtues of EVs; Australia shows what's possible in new homes when you add solar, batteries and smart tech; a start-up selling portable solar and battery systems that wants it to be as easy and common as wi-fi; and The Lines Company looks to put some solar on the roof of the Ōtorohanga Kiwi House.
Read moreDownloadWhen it comes to electric farming, "the numbers are becoming undeniable," says Nicholson Poultry's Jeff Collings. With 60kW of solar, a Nissan Leaf as a 'farm quad', electric mowers, an electric ute that can run a water blaster, and even a chicken manure scraper made out of a wrecked Tesla that, as Rewiring's Matt Newman says, looks a bit like something out of Mad Max, "almost everything is electric". There aren't many others in New Zealand who have gone this far down the electric road. And, with his electric Stark Varg, the fastest off-road motorbike in the world, he's obviously having plenty of fun on that road, too.
Read moreDownloadRNZ's Kate Newton reports on the "madness" of thousands of new piped gas connections being installed into houses every year, despite dwindling supplies and higher lifetime costs.
Casey said it was positive that the numbers showed people starting to leave the gas network of their own accord, but not all households were in a position to make that choice.
"If we don't plan for a decommissioning of the gas network, then it's going to be a chaotic transition, where vulnerable New Zealanders really suffer."
As the research of Rewiring and others has shown, gas is expensive, it's getting more expensive, it's terrible for your health when burned inside and there are substitutes available right now that, on average, do the same job for less money over the long run for households, would save the country billions on health costs and lost productivity, and don't pump out unnecessary emissions.
Around 300,000 homes and businesses have connections to the gas network (it’s estimated another 300,000 use more expensive bottled gas, mostly in the South Island). The number of active connections has started to decline recently and the country’s largest gas network, Vector, is forecasting no new residential or commercial connections after 2029.
Upfront capital costs are the main barrier for many homes, which is why we're working hard on a low-interest, long-term loan scheme that can be used to pay for electric upgrades, including hot water heat pumps. This would mean paying for a new thing with a loan would be cheaper than paying to run the old thing.
Read more about the scheme here.
Disconnection costs are also a major barrier. We have seen examples where households permanently disconnecting from the network have been charged between $1,000 and $2,000 to have a meter permanently removed (i.e. digging up the pipes to the road), even though it should only cost customers $200 to have the connection capped at the house.
RNZ even reported a case where a business customer was quoted $7,500 but took the case to Utilities Disputes, where complaints about disconnection costs have been rising.
The Australian Energy Regulator and the state of Victoria have now capped the disconnection fees to a few hundred dollars to stop this kind of behaviour and protect households.