New-Zealand GHI mid-size-map 156x220mm-300dpi v20191206

Solar power in New Zealand is increasing in capacity, despite no government subsidies or interventions being available. As at the end of December 2022, New Zealand has 255 MW of grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) solar power installed, of which 65 MW (25%) was installed that year. In the 12 months to September 2022, 249 gigawatt-hours of electricity was estimated to have been generated by grid-connected solar, 0.57% of all electricity generated in the country. Although there are no subsidies, the declining costs of

photovoltaics Photovoltaics (PV) is the conversion of light into electricity using semiconducting materials that exhibit the photovoltaic effect, a phenomenon studied in physics, photochemistry, and electrochemistry. The photovoltaic effect is commercially us ...

has caused a large increase in demand over the last few years. In 2009, the average turnkey price for a standard

PV system PV may refer to: Places * Paceville, Malta * Puerto Vallarta, Mexico * Postal village, a settlement that has a post office United States * Palos Verdes Peninsula, California * Prescott Valley, Arizona * Prairie Village, Kansas Politics * P ...

of three

kilowatt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Wa ...

s (kW) was about NZ$40,000; by 2019 this had dropped to approx. NZ$8,500.

Distributed systems

As of the end of December 2022, 45,761 solar power systems had been installed in New Zealand. For new installations added in December 2022, the average residential system size was 5.7 kW and the average commercial system was 38.4 kW. The largest solar power system on a school in New Zealand was officially opened in a ceremony in February 2019 at Kaitaia College. Kelvin Davis, unveiled a plaque to acknowledge the installation of the 368 solar panel project which is spread across the rooftop of multiple buildings on the school campus. By January 2014, solar

photovoltaic system A photovoltaic system, also PV system or solar power system, is an electric power system designed to supply usable solar power by means of photovoltaics. It consists of an arrangement of several components, including solar panels to absorb and co ...

s had been installed in 50 schools through the Schoolgen program, a program developed by Genesis Energy to educate students about renewable energy, particularly solar energy. Each school has been given a 2 kW capacity PV system, with a total distributed installed capacity of 100 kilowatts-peak (kWp). Since February 2007, a total of 513 megawatt-hours (MWh) of electrical energy have been recorded. In January 2020

Foodstuffs Food is any substance consumed by an organism for nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or fungal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals. The substance is ingest ...

announced it would be installing a 1.1 MW PV array on its new Auckland distribution centre. In October 2020

Watercare Services Watercare Services (Watercare) is an infrastructure asset management council-controlled organisation (CCO) that manages the drinking water and wastewater services of the Auckland Region of New Zealand. Watercare is registered with the New Zeala ...

installed a 1 MW floating array on its Auckland wastewater treatment plant. In 2021, Kea Energy commissioned a solar power plant in the

Wairau Valley Wairau Valley is the valley of the Wairau River in Marlborough Region, Marlborough, New Zealand and also the name of the main settlement in the upper valley. New Zealand State Highway 63, State Highway 63 runs through the valley. The valley open ...

Marlborough Marlborough may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Marlborough, Wiltshire, England ** Marlborough College, public school * Marlborough School, Woodstock in Oxfordshire, England * The Marlborough Science Academy in Hertfordshire, England Austral ...

with a potential capacity of 2.2 MW, with current plans to build capacity up to 1.85 MW as at March 2021. In June 2021, the

Todd Corporation The Todd Corporation is a large private New Zealand company with a value of $4.3 billion, owned and controlled by the Todd family and headquartered in Wellington, New Zealand. The corporation is currently led by chairman of the board, Henry Tait ...

commissioned a 2.1MW solar plant at Kapuni in

south Taranaki South Taranaki is a territorial authority on the west coast of New Zealand's North Island that contains the towns of Hāwera (the seat of the district), Manaia, Ōpunake, Patea, Eltham, and Waverley. The District has a land area of 3,575.46&nbs ...

. The facility includes 5800 solar panels and was claimed to be the largest grid-connected solar plant at the time.

Grid-scale plants

In July 2019 Refining NZ announced plans for a 26 MW solar farm at the

Marsden Point Oil Refinery Marsden Point Oil Refinery is a 96,000 BPD refinery located at Marsden Point, Whangarei, Northland, New Zealand. It is the only oil refinery in New Zealand, and is operated by Refining NZ. The point was named after Samuel Marsden. The regional sur ...

, but by May 2020 the project was on hold. In February 2020

Genesis Energy Limited Genesis Energy Limited, formerly Genesis Power Limited is a New Zealand publicly listed electricity generation and electricity, natural gas and LPG retailing company. It was formed as part of the 1998–99 reform of the New Zealand electri ...

announced plans for a 300 MW facility in the Waikato.' In September 2020

Hawke's Bay Airport Hawke's Bay Airport , commonly referred to as Napier Airport, is Hawke's Bay's main commercial airport, serving domestic flights to the main centres of Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch as well as smaller centres such as Gisborne, Wairoa ...

announced plans for a 10 MW farm on unused airport land. In May 2020, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment released a study that considered the economics of grid-scale solar and gave forecasts to 2060, showing that New Zealand has potential for gigawatts of grid-scale solar. In February 2021 Far North Solar Farm applied for resource consent for a 16 MW farm at Pukenui on the

Aupouri Peninsula The Aupouri Peninsula is a tombolo at the northern tip of the North Island of New Zealand. It projects between the Tasman Sea to the west and the Pacific Ocean to the east. It constitutes the northern part of the Far North District, incorporat ...

in Northland. In May 2021 Lodestone Energy announced plans for five solar farms in the upper North Island, capable of generating 400 GWh annually. In December 2021

Christchurch Airport Christchurch Airport is the main airport that serves Christchurch, New Zealand. It is located to the northwest of the city centre, in the suburb of Harewood. Christchurch (Harewood) Airport officially opened on 18 May 1940 and became New Zea ...

announced it would be hosting a 150 MW plant at Kōwhai Park, to be scaled up over 30 years. On 30 December 2021 Island Green Power announced plans for a 200MW solar farm in Waikato. In April 2022 Helios Energy announced plans for a series of farms with a combined output of 1 GW. In May 2022 Far North Solar Farm announced a partnership with Aquila Capital to build 1 GW of generation.

Proposed and under construction

Only solar plants over 5 MW generating capacity are listed.

Cost-effectiveness

Retail buy-back rates for solar power exported to the grid range from 7 to 17 cents, plus 15%

GST GST may refer to: Taxes * General sales tax * Goods and Services Tax, the name for the value-added tax in several jurisdictions: ** Goods and services tax (Australia) ** Goods and Services Tax (Canada) ** Goods and Services Tax (Hong Kong) **G ...

if the system owner is GST-registered. Cost-effectiveness of a residential solar power occurs when system owners aim to use more of their solar power than what they export, by means of timed appliances, turning on appliances when the sun is out, energy management systems and battery storage. Commercial buildings that use power during the day can get a high return on their investment. A 2015 study found that PV was more economical than grid supply if all the PV electricity was used on site and none was exported to the grid. For residential and commercial installations, improving energy efficiency is a lower cost option than PV.

Statistics

References

External links

Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority
- Solar Energy
Sustainable Electricity Association of New Zealand

The price of a solar power system
{{Solar power by country