Led by sunny South Island, solar panel uptake triples

Led by sunny South Island, solar panel uptake triples

More homes and businesses are harnessing the power of the sun to help lower their power bills, according to a new analysis by the Electricity Networks Association (ENA).

Installation of solar, or photovoltaic (PV), arrays for generating electricity has tripled in just 18 months.
In October 2013 there were only 1,630 solar installations nationwide. By March this year, that number had leapt to 5,367 – a 220 percent increase – with most in homes. But these were not spread evenly across the country, or concentrated in the sunniest spots.

Aucklanders are far and away installing the most solar panels, but on a population basis the top of the South Island is leading the charge towards solar, while the lower North Island and West Coast have the lowest uptake.

The top of the South Island has the highest concentration of sol ar installations per person. Tasman has 41 per 10,000 people, much higher than the national average of 12. But even in Otago and Southland, solar arrays per person are the same or higher than in areas such as Auckland, Bay of Plenty and Gisborne, which get more sun.

The city with the lowest rate of solar uptake is Wellington, which has only 2.7 solar installations per 10,000 people – well below the rest of the country and less than the greater Wellington region (5 per 10,000 people).

ENA Chief Executive Graeme Peters said he was surprised by some of the results.

“We were expecting to see more solar in sunny areas of the North Island and in Wellington. But it seems that South Islanders are more interested in harvesting the sun.

“It would be interesting to know why Wellingtonians are less likely to install solar than other New Zealanders, and why Southlanders are installing PV despite getting the least sunshine in the country. And it&rsquo ;s puzzling why people in sunny places like Bay of Plenty and Gisborne aren’t going solar.”

Most of the new installations are in the major centres. Nearly a third during the 18 months have been in Auckland, 16 percent in Canterbury and 11 percent in the Waikato.

However, the major cities tend to have fewer solar installations per person than their surrounding rural areas.

Peters said advances in solar and battery technology are increasingly making PV a viable alternative for consumers.

Boosted by subsidies, uptake of PA in other countries such as Australia has been rapid.

Electricity distributors have a significant role in developing and managing energy alternatives for consumers. Some of the issues resulting from uptake of PV technology are explored in a discussion paper released recently by the ENA.

“The ENA doesn’t have a view on the benefits or otherwise of installing solar, which is a decision for individual customer s. But clearly PV is a growing trend, and this will result in opportunities and challenges for distribution businesses. It also means that the companies which distribute power, currently regulated monopolies, are entering an era where they face competition from new technologies,” Peters said.

“No matter where you live, electricity network businesses are important points of contact for anyone who wants to install solar at their home or business.

“If you want to install solar, give your local network business a call. They can help ensure that your installation doesn’t cause any problems for the electricity supply in your area,” Peters said.

The Electricity Networks Association represents New Zealand’s 29 electricity distribution businesses

ENDS

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