Source: Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment (MBIE)
New Zealand’s residential uptake of rooftop solar is lower than many other countries. In order to shift the tide, the Government is making changes to:
- Expand the permitted voltage range from +/- 6% +/- 10% – this will help manage the changing flow of electricity sent back to the grid from rooftop solar, as well as growing levels of electric vehicle (EV) charging.
- Clarify that a building consent is not needed to install rooftop solar panels on existing residential buildings.
- Require councils to process building consents for new homes with solar panels within 10 working days, down from the standard 20 working days.
Expanding the voltage range allows the Government to future-proof New Zealand’s electricity networks in a cost-effective way by avoiding passing on significant costs of network upgrades needed to accommodate rooftop solar and EV charging on to consumers. Modelling suggests that this could boost solar investment and overall generation by 507 GWh through increased solar connections.
Meanwhile, changes to the Building Act to exempt rooftop solar installation from needing building consent aim to ensure consistent decision-making across the country and remove barriers for homeowners interesting in adopting solar. The shortened building consent process for new homes with solar panels will support Kiwis to incorporate solar into their build plans and make the most of the benefits of rooftop solar.
You can read the Ministers’ announcement here:
Supercharging residential solar power generation(external link) — Beehive.govt.nz
