The New Zealand Green Building Council welcomes this
morning’s announcement of Labour’s SolarSaver policy,
saying it adds welcome momentum to the election-year focus
on energy resilience, lower power bills, and making better
use of the energy resources New Zealand already has
available.
NZ Green Building Council chief executive
Andrew Eagles says, “It’s great to see a kickstart
subsidy included in this plan, low-interest loans are
important, but a rebate will really help those who have
concerns about getting started. This feature, which is used
in many places overseas, is a crucial part of building scale
and getting widespread uptake.”
“These programmes
are low-cost options for any Government, they work well in
other countries and done right make a real difference,”
says Andrew Eagles. “There are huge advantages when these
schemes are taken up at scale, including dramatically
helping with peak load, a real challenge for New
Zealand.
The widespread installation of batteries
means Australia can now effectively distribute as much power
at peak load as two Huntly power stations.
“This is
great for security and energy resilience. There was no
resource consent needed, no planning, construction delays or
cost increases associated with a large power station or
renewables programme. It happened in the space of 18
months.”
Our two major political parties have now
both made important policy commitments to help build our
nation’s resilience and help modernise our energy
grid.
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But energy security and healthy efficient homes
is more than just rooftop solar panels and batteries.
Insulation, hot water heat pumps, and help to get off gas
must be included in these schemes.
“We urge Labour
to include these wider initiatives in its subsidy and low
interest loans programme unveiled today,” says Andrew
Eagles. Forty one percent of New Zealand houses have
bedrooms that are consistently below 16 degrees. “A solar
panel on the roof doesn’t help a child in a cold
bedroom.”
The focus on trades training in Labour’s
announcement is also welcomed by the NZGBC, which has been
encouraging subsidised training for plumbers, gas fitters
and other trades needed to help electrify and modernise our
homes and buildings.
Schemes such as these have proven
to be good for job creation in other countries.
Our
2026 Manifesto: “Building a smarter, lower cost energy
future for Kiwi families” has recommendations to cut red
tape, build energy resilience and improve our homes and
buildings.
They include:
- Improve Warmer
Kiwi Homes to support efficient space and water heating,
insulation, ventilation, and lighting. - Introduce
rebates for hot water heat pumps—the single largest
opportunity for household energy savings. For lower income
homes, this can be the best way to get these modern
appliances installed. - Modernise the building code
enabling all homes to meet energy performance standards, as
in other countries, and for new builds to be
all-electric. - Adopt a check at the design stage to
confirm new build terraced homes and apartments do not
overheat.
