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We’re in favour of anything that speeds up solar adoption (it’s the cheapest electricity households can get, it will help generate the extra electricity we need, and it can help replace fossil fuels in the energy system), so it was good to see another positive signal from the Government yesterday. As part of a proposed range of tax changes, income tax won’t be charged on any money gained from exporting solar from residential systems.
This certainly wasn’t something stopping people from investing in solar and, for most, it was balanced out on the electricity bill. As RNZ reported, “Inland Revenue thinks tax compliance among people with solar power systems is low, perhaps because they are not aware the income should be taxable.”
It’s good to see the Government removing all sorts of potential barriers and disincentives (including issues like this that didn’t seem to be much of a problem yet) and making changes to incentivise bigger systems (like changing voltage ranges to allow for higher export limits), but there are a few other things that need to be changed if we really want to get things cranking.
The real barriers to adoption are things like a lack of access to long-term, low-interest finance and the fact that install prices here in New Zealand are around twice what they are in Australia due to excessive red tape.
If the Government really wanted to supercharge the rollout of larger solar and battery systems, we would love for this exemption to be applied to farms and commercial buildings under a certain size because exports can be a significant revenue stream and that could have a major impact on the books - and have a pretty big impact on the country’s energy system.
Contact's grid-scale battery at Glenbrook is switched on and the Prime Minister talks again about 'energy independence' at the opening; how steel mills and smelters here and overseas are embracing electrons; the electric wave is a massive job creation opportunity (while imported oil does bugger all on that front) and renewable projects are set to keep New South Wales out of recession; batteries have all but displaced gas for peaks in Queensland in just a couple of years, and solar and wind overtake gas for the first time globally; data shows sales of internal combustion cars peaked in 2017 but sales of EVs more than doubled between 2022 -2025; and anyone with a heat pump is making a killing.
Read moreDownloadA proposal to let people install solar panels and other green technology using low-interest loans from their council needs to go ahead "as soon as possible", its proponents say. The government asked Local Government New Zealand to present its business case for the proposed Ratepayer Assistance Scheme (RAS) in late 2025. However, ministers still had not made any decisions about whether to go ahead with the scheme - which would let councils provide long-term loans to any homeowner who wanted to access them. That's despite growing political support from parties across the spectrum.
Read moreDownloadQueenstown, New Zealand (18 May 2026) Leading politicians debated New Zealand's energy future on the second day of Electrify Queenstown 2026 today. The sold-out session, moderated by journalist Paddy Gower, opened with speeches from Deputy Prime Minister and ACT Party Leader Hon. David Seymour, Labour Leader Rt Hon. Chris Hipkins, Energy Minister Hon. Simeon Brown, New Zealand First Co-Leader and Associate Energy Minister Hon. Shane Jones, Green Party Co-Leader Chlöe Swarbrick, and The Opportunities Party Leader Qiulae Wong.
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