The National Party is promising to introduce a Home Energy Fund to allocate low-interest, long-term loans to encourage households to switch to solar power.
It would be repaid through rates, "so households can invest in solar, batteries, insulation and other energy resilience measures without the large upfront costs", energy spokesperson Simeon Brown said.
"It also means a stronger, more resilient energy system that gives New Zealanders access to a wider and more reliable mix of power when weather events or global shocks put pressure on supply."
National's finance spokesperson Nicola Willis said it would cost $7 million upfront to the Crown to make the equity investment in the Home Energy Fund.
"That's based on work that Local Government New Zealand has done."
A National Party spokesperson said the exact interest rate and term would be confirmed at the time the fund would be set up, but it was anticipated the rate would be about 2% below floating rates.
The loans were intended to be long term, with 10 years as the possible start point with no penalties for early repayments. The local government scheme the fund was inspired by looked to structure the loans over 20-30 years.
Labour energy spokesperson Megan Woods said while there were "many positives to this scheme, our concern is what has been announced today from National is very narrow, that what it does is it supports those people that own a home," and missed the large number of people who rent.
"If you want to be [the] government of this country, you've also got to have thought a little bit more deeply and thought about what you can do to support the third of New Zealanders who rent their houses."
Asked what Labour would do to support those renters, Woods did not answer but said they would be releasing their energy policy soon.
Willis described the scheme as a "great incentive" for landlords, who would "improve the value of their property, and I think make it more attractive to their tenants."
"This is a scheme that we hope will increase solar generation for New Zealand, will give more homes the ability to generate their own affordable electricity and will lead to more energy security and resilience."
National's local government spokesperson Simon Watts said the fund would allocate low-interest loans, secured against their property, "without the big upfront cost and instead pay it off through their rates over time as they save on power bills".
Upgrades would include rooftop solar and batteries, heat pumps, insulation and efficient electric appliances.
Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) welcomed the policy proposal.
Inspired by the local government-led Ratepayer Assistance Scheme (RAS), LGNZ chief executive Scott Necklen said the proposal; "shows the potential for local government to deliver ratepayers meaningful solutions when
"The RAS also has the potential to help ratepayers manage upfront council charges like rates and development contributions/levies by converting them into affordable payments over a longer period of time."
13 Comments
Too little too late?
Any mention of what the rate is?
Floating rate minus 2%
So pretty much what you can get as a fixed rate. Not very inspiring
Surely the private sector should be doing this rather than bigger government?
The private sector will be installing all this. It is access to funding that this policy resolves.
private sector is already doing this, most banks offer 0% or 1% green loans for this stuff. But not everyone is elligible, this opens a new avenue, hopefully with less barriers to entry. Can imagine the solar installers being able to take care of all the paperwork vs applying to the bank for a new mortgage. Have to be careful though, i can imagine people being taken advantage of if the loan is too easy, being sold overspeced systems that are never going to pay for themselves, or solar on SE SW facing roofs etc..
What ever could go wrong? If the private sector struggles to make it stack up why is the government sticking taxpayer money at it?
Australia’s rooftop solar love affair has a dirty secret, with nearly 4 million discarded panels being sent into landfill every year.
Rooftop panels can last for more than 25 years, but those that are being scrapped to landfill are an average of eight years old, as home owners upgrade their systems to the vastly more efficient and cheaper units that are now on the market.
"Vastly" cheaper but still need taxpayer support.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/the-dirty-secret-in-australia-s…
Royal Commission into the Home Insulation Program
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-03-17/young-men-who-died-in-insulation…
Access cheap capital for solar. Make someone else do the collection (Councils). Like it.
So put up $20000 solar system, then sell the house and pocket the cash...
How do you pocket the cash? Cash went to the solar installer. Buyer knows there are payments due on the rates so they are not gonna give you cash for it.
I think this is a good idea
Great to see.
Solar will be a game changer for both the nation and the householder.
Perhaps the government should focus on relaxing these rules rather than stiffing the taxpayer. Be more like a conservative government than a Labourlite one.
"Plug-in solar is small solar panels that you can buy at a supermarket, attach to an external wall and plug into a power socket inside your home.
Plug-in solar fitted to balconies is especially popular in Germany, with more than a million sets installed between 2022 and 2025. The price halved during the same period, with small models costing around €200 and large ones that include storage costing less than €1,000.
According to Solar Power Europe, it takes an average of two to six years to recoup the cost of the system, depending on what you paid for it, its size and where you mount it."
We welcome your comments below. If you are not already registered, please register to comment
Remember we welcome robust, respectful and insightful debate. We don't welcome abusive or defamatory comments and will de-register those repeatedly making such comments. Our current comment policy is here.