Solar power in New Zealand

Solar power in New Zealand is on the rise, but operates in an entirely free market with no form of subsidies or intervention from the New Zealand Government. As of the end of March 2021, New Zealand has 151 MW of grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) solar power installed, of which 29 MW were installed in the preceding 12 months.
Although there are no subsidies, the declining costs of photovoltaics has caused a large increase in demand over the last few years. In 2009, the average turnkey price for a standard PV system of three kilowatts (kW) was about NZ$40,000; by 2019 this had dropped to approx. NZ$8,500.
Adoption.
As of then end of March 2021, 31,589 solar power systems have been installed in New Zealand. For new installations, the average residential system size was 4.6 kW and the average commercial system was 17.8 kW.
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.
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 2 kW 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.
As of 2021, New Zealand's largest solar power plant is in the Wairau Valley in Marlborough with a total capacity of 2.2 MVA, 1.4 MW is connected as at March 2021.
In July 2019 Refining NZ announced plans for a 26 MW solar farm at the Marsden Point Oil Refinery. In February 2020 Genesis Energy Limited announced plans for a 300 MW facility in the Waikato. In February 2021 Far North Solar Farm applied for resource consent for a 16 MW farm on the Aupouri Peninsula in Northland. In May 2021 Lodestone Energy announced plans for five solar farms in the upper North Island, capable of generating 400 GWh annually.
Cost-effectiveness.
Buy-back rates for solar power exported to the grid range from 7 cents to 12 cents. Cost-effectiveness of a residential solar power occurs when system owners aim to use more of their solar power than what they export, by means of timed appliances, turning on appliances when the sun is out, energy management systems and battery storage. Commercial buildings that use power during the day can get a high return on their investment.
A 2015 study found that PV was more economical than grid supply if all the PV electricity was used on site and none was exported to the grid. For residential and commercial installations, improving energy efficiency is a lower cost option than PV.