Solar potential of New ZealandSolar panels on a home in Auckland
Solar power in New Zealand is a small but rapidly growing contributor to the country's electricity supply. In 2024, 601 gigawatt-hours of electricity was estimated to have been generated by grid-connected solar, 1.4% of all electricity generated in the country.[1]
As of the end of September 2025, New Zealand had 787MW of grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) solar power installed.[2] Since records began in September 2013, solar capacity has been increasing exponentially, doubling in capacity roughly every 24 months.[2] For new installations added in September 2025, the average residential system size was 7.7kW and the average small and medium enterprise system was 38kW.[2]
Installations by type
Solar power systems can be divided based on their nameplate capacity and their obligations under the Electricity Industry Participation Code.[3][4][5]
Small distributed systems are up to and including 10kW.
Large distributed systems are between 10kW and 1000kW.
Grid-scale systems are 1MW or more. Systems above 1MW must comply with disclosure requirements to the transmission system operator (Transpower). Systems above 10MW are required to participate in the wholesale electricity market.
Residential, commercial and industrial do not refer to system size, but rather the industry of the system owner as recorded on the ICP register. Industrial systems are those connected to ICPs with an ANZSIC code A through E, commercial systems are those connected to ICPs with an ANZSIC code F through S, and residential systems are those connected to ICPs without a valid ANZSIC code. Small and medium enterprise systems are those connected to commercial and industrial ICPs with a service capacity up to three-phase 500 amperes (i.e. 345kVA).[2]
Distributed systems
Although there are no subsidies for small-scale solar in New Zealand, the declining costs of photovoltaic have driven strong growth in household installations in recent years. In 2009, the average turnkey price for a standard 3-kilowatt (kW) PV system was about NZ$40,000;[6] by 2024 the average residential system size had increased to 7 kW while the average cost had fallen to NZ$16,500.[7]
Rooftop and other small photovoltaic systems with a capacity of up to and including 10kW are classified as small-scale distributed generation under Part 6 of the Electricity Industry Participation Code. These systems must be approved by the local electricity distribution business (EDB) before they are connected to the grid, but EDBs cannot unreasonably refuse connection if the equipment meets technical standards. Inverters are required to comply with AS/NZS 4777, and most networks limit export to 5kW per phase for single- and two-phase systems.[3][4][5]
Such systems generally do not require building consent when installed on existing roofs. Consent may be needed, however, for building-integrated PV (e.g. where the panels act as roof cladding), in heritage or design-sensitive zones, when breaching height-to-boundary restrictions, or for ground-mounted arrays larger than 40 square metres (430sqft).[8] Installations do not require building consent, but must be reviewed and approved by a licenced engineer in the following circumstances: ground-mounted arrays between 20 and 40m2 (220 and 430sqft), roof-mounted arrays on a building that total more than 40m2 (430sqft) on the same building, and any solar arrays installed in areas with a minimum design wind speeds greater than 44m/s (160km/h; 98mph), such as exposed areas close to Cook Strait and areas in the lee of the Southern Alps (due to the Nor'westerFoehn wind).[9]
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.[10]
By January 2014, solar photovoltaic systems 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 2kW 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.[11]
In January 2020 Foodstuffs announced it would be installing a 1.1MW PV array on its new Auckland distribution centre.[12][13] In October 2020 Watercare Services installed a 1MW floating array on its Auckland wastewater treatment plant.[14]
Grid-scale plants
In July 2019 Refining NZ announced plans for a 26MW solar farm at the Marsden Point Oil Refinery, but by May 2020 the project was on hold.[15][16] In February 2020 Genesis Energy Limited announced plans for a 300MW facility in the Waikato.[17]' In September 2020 Hawke's Bay Airport announced plans for a 10MW farm on unused airport land.[18] 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.[19]
In February 2021 Far North Solar Farm applied for resource consent for a 16MW farm at Pukenui on the Aupouri Peninsula in Northland.[20] The development subsequently stalled due to a lack of network capacity.[21]
In 2021, Kea Energy commissioned a solar power plant in the Wairau Valley in Marlborough with a potential capacity of 2.2MW, with current plans to build capacity up to 1.85MW as at March 2021.[22] In June 2021, the Todd Corporation commissioned a 2.1MW solar plant at Kapuni in south Taranaki. The facility includes 5800 solar panels and was claimed to be the largest grid-connected solar plant at the time.[23]
In December 2021 Christchurch Airport announced it would be hosting a 150MW plant at Kōwhai Park, to be scaled up over 30 years.[24][25] On 30 December 2021 Island Green Power announced plans for a 200MW solar farm in Waikato.[26] In April 2022 Helios Energy announced plans for a series of farms with a combined output of 1GW.[27] In May 2022 Far North Solar Farm announced a partnership with offshore investment fund Aquila Capital to build 1GW of generation.[28]
In May 2021 Lodestone Energy announced plans for five solar farms in the upper North Island, capable of generating 400GWh annually.[29][30] The 32MWp Kohirā solar farm, northwest of Kaitaia, began generating electricity in November 2023.[31] As the first solar farm to exceed 10MW, Kohirā was also the first required to participate in the wholesale electricity market.[32]
As of September 2025, grid operator Transpower has 55 solar projects totalling 10,842MW in its generation pipeline. Of those, nine projects totalling 1,646MW are in the delivery stage (i.e. detailed design or construction).[33]
Only solar plants over 5 MW generating capacity are listed, or if the generating capacity is unknown, plants covering an area of at least 10 hectares (25 acres).
Retail buy-back rates for solar power exported to the grid range from 8 to 17 cents per kilowatt-hour, plus 15% GST if the system owner is GST-registered.[110] The financial return for PV systems depends largely on maximising on-site consumption, as self-consumed electricity offsets retail power prices of around 30–35 cents per kilowatt-hour. Common methods to increase self-consumption include running appliances during daylight hours, using energy management systems, or installing battery storage.[111]
The effective cost of electricity from rooftop PV is estimated at around 11 cents per kilowatt-hour, compared with about 35 cents from the grid. Reported payback periods for households range from five to seven years, with shorter times for users with high daytime demand.[112] Financing costs can significantly extend the payback period, though some banks offer low-interest "green loans" for solar installations.[113]
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