Experts are calling for policy changes following the announcement that SolarZero, one of New Zealand’s largest solar power companies, has entered liquidation.
SolarZero, which has been a pioneer in providing solar power systems, announced liquidation last week. The company’s directors cited “unsustainable operating losses” and liquidity constraints as the primary reasons for this decision. They have appointed Russell Moore and Stephen Keen from Grant Thornton as liquidators to oversee the process.
Lightforce Solar managing director John Harman has highlighted a concerning trend in New Zealand’s solar energy adoption, stating that the country is lagging significantly behind its peers.
Currently, only 3% of New Zealand’s homes are equipped with rooftop solar systems, a stark contrast to the 20% average seen in most OECD countries. Australia leads the way, with nearly 30% of its houses utilising rooftop solar.
Harman emphasised that the absence of supportive policies in New Zealand has hindered the growth of the solar market.
He advocates for the introduction of “symmetrical tariffs,” which would ensure that individuals with rooftop solar systems are fairly compensated for the energy they contribute back to the grid. Harman also emphasised that battery storage could also enhance grid stability and should receive compensation for its contributions.
“If I put rooftop solar and invest in generation capacity for New Zealand, whatever the retailer is charging me per unit of power, they should pay me for the use of that energy off my roof.”
“I’m not looking for subsidies; I’m looking for a level playing field. When a retailer brings power from down south to my house in Auckland, they lose 8% in the transmission. If that retailer bought power off me at a fair price and sold it to my neighbour, they’d be making 8% on the transaction.”
For Harman, rooftop solar is considered the most efficient and sustainable source of electricity.
“The cheapest and most democratic way to produce energy is at source of use. That is on your rooftop,” he said.
Sustainable Electricity Association chief executive Brendan Winitana stated that rooftop solar could address many of the challenges currently facing the New Zealand electricity grid.
“If we look at what has transpired this year in the energy sector: We still have prices going up, we’ve got lines companies and transpower rates—the Commerce Commission has agreed that their rates can be increased by a certain percentage on their regulated return—we have a pylon that fell over, we have storage issues. So security of supply is an issue; resilience will continue to be an issue.”
Winitana stated that rooftop solar combined with a two-way grid system is the optimal solution for enhancing resilience and security of supply.