A re-elected National Government will strengthen New Zealand’s energy resilience and help lower power bills by supporting households to move to solar power.
National will introduce a Home Energy Fund that will offer low-interest, long-term loans that are repaid through rates so households can invest in solar, batteries, insulation and other energy resilience measures without the large upfront costs.
“Building the future means more Kiwis generating their own power and paying less for it,” National’s Energy spokesperson Simeon Brown says.
“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 is delivering that through Electrify NZ, with widespread regulatory reform driving a record-breaking pipeline of renewable generation, backed by strategic coal and diesel reserves and the prospect of LNG to keep lights on in dry years.
“But there’s more to do at the household level. While renewable energy projects are taking off across New Zealand, uptake of residential solar, battery storage and on-farm generation remains low. Just 3 per cent of Kiwi households have solar, compared with about 9 per cent in the United States and one in three in Australia.
“In a more volatile world and with more severe weather events, supporting households to have greater control over their power will help more families store affordable energy when prices spike, and keep the lights on during outages.”
National’s Local Government spokesperson Simon Watts says the Home Energy Fund has been inspired by the Ratepayer Assistance Scheme called for by Local Government New Zealand and Rewiring Aotearoa.
“We know that the biggest barrier to solar, batteries and other home energy upgrades is the significant upfront cost,” Mr Watts says.
“National’s Home Energy Fund will allow property owners to obtain a low-interest loan, secured against their property, to install solar and batteries without the big upfront cost and instead pay it off through their rates over time as they save on power bills.
“This will give Kiwis more control over their power bills rather than leaving them exposed to rising electricity costs,” Mr Watts says.
Supported by central government and participating councils, the Fund would help finance rooftop solar and batteries, heat pumps, insulation, efficient electric appliances, and other approved energy resilience upgrades.
In addition to the Home Energy Fund, National will also remove planning rules that make it hard for Kiwis to generate their own power.
“Getting permission for small-scale renewables on your own property is too hard. The rules are fragmented, confusing, and vary by council,” National’s RMA Reform spokesperson Chris Bishop says.
“In one case, a council demanded a water discharge consent for ground-mounted solar because rain might run off the panels. That’s the kind of nonsense we’ll end.”
Under the new Resource Management system, National will make small-scale renewables largely permitted as of right, so Kiwis can:
· Install rooftop solar without a consent;
· Put ground-mounted solar on farms as a permitted activity, with sensible safeguards;
· Add small-scale battery storage as of right; and
· Run small micro-hydro for on-site use, subject to standard environmental conditions.
“Together, our Home Energy Fund and consent changes will make it easier for Kiwis to use natural resources on their own land, with as little red tape as possible, making energy more affordable and building a more resilient New Zealand,” Mr Bishop says.
