Green Party initiative on solar power brings NZ in step with rest of the world
Andrew Booth, CEO of New Zealand’s leading solar power company SolarCity NZ, welcomes the Green Party’s new solar
initiative, saying it finally brings New Zealand in step with leading global economies.
The Green Party today announced a new key policy to provide a more predictable and sustainable scheme for Kiwis who want
solar power in New Zealand. The new initiative, which will give consumers access to a financing mechanism and a price
guarantee for what they will be paid for the solar power they generate, is an important step forward to providing Kiwis
with a fair deal on solar.
The price of solar technology has declined by over 300% since 2008, whilst the price of power has increased by over 85%,
and yet this government has done nothing to help everyday New Zealanders to sustainably battle these power increases.
“For years, in many other nations goverents have recognised the important role that consumers can play in the
electricity market, both as generators and as a source of clean power, helping to take carbon out of the electricity
supply,” Booth says.
“New Zealand is currently out-of-step with many of the world’s leading economies after the government withdrew all
support for solar over the past two years, while power prices continued to increase,” says Booth. “A loan scheme for
solar and a fair feed-in tariff as proposed by the Green Party, will provide a natural cap on electricity prices by
levelling the playing field with other forms of generation and increasing competition in the market. “In Germany, the
Government helped kick start solar uptake, and now homeowners generate 51% of Germany’s renewable energy, and more than
250,000 new clean tech jobs have been created. This is a remarkable achievement,” he says. “I believe the Green Party’s
scheme will undoubtedly result in more New Zealand households install solar, so they can make the most of the sun’s free
energy, while helping create new jobs in one of the fastest growing sectors in the world.”
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