A new company, Helios Energy, formed by a group of United States and New Zealand entrepreneurs announced this week that it had been “quietly developing” a series of grid-connected solar farms that would have a combined maximum capacity of 1 gigawatt.

Energy News and GE Digital recently released the results of the 2021 New Zealand Electricity Survey. Respondents included consultants, distributors and
gentailers.

Key points of note:

• grid-scale solar plus batteries should be prioritised for development over the next 10 to 20 years to best complement the existing generation mix - it delivers the best system-wide benefits, with global technology costs set to fall materially during the next 10 years
• The prediction for reaching 500 MW of installed solar has moved forward from 2030 last year to respondents now thinking this will occur by 2024
• The adoption of grid and home batteries was put forward as the primary technology to help decarbonise and improve energy security. However, the affordability of batteries is delaying mass deployment

Download the full report here

Fair Go's top tip for installing solar? USE A SEANZ MEMBER

Are you interested in providing innovative solutions to help us build the electricity network of the future?

As energy systems around the world change to meet the rapidly evolving demands of electrification, decarbonisation, reliability, and affordability, non-wires alternatives must be integrated with traditional infrastructure in a ‘best of both worlds’ approach. ‘Non-wires alternative’ is a catch-all term for an electricity network investment or project that uses non-traditional solutions to defer or replace the need for equipment upgrades, such as lines, cables or transformers, by reducing load at a substation or circuit level.

Aurora seek non-network solutions to reliably meet growing peak demand in the wider Wanaka area.

We have had a few questions today so SEANZ would like to publicly clarify - the solar installation company that appeared on Fair Go last night is not, and never has been a SEANZ Member.

SEANZ has advised its members to be aware of this company given previous complaints against it by consumers and the wider industry.

For anyone thinking of installing solar panels or other home energy technologies, our message is simple – for your safety and security always use a SEANZ Member. Our members have been vetted and work to a strict code of conduct. Any complaints can be resolved through the SEANZ disputes resolution process.

SEANZ members are trusted professionals in the industry and include suppliers, installers, energy consultants across the country in all areas, cities and regions. You can find a SEANZ member here: https://www.seanz.org.nz/directory

The industry is in growth mode across the markets (residential, commercial and industrial) but that growth could be significantly better with adjustments in a few spaces. A clue to growth is the long-held SEANZ view. It’s not subsidies or feed in tariffs, as we don’t want them given the damage they do long term. It is far closer. It’s the by-product of a huge, multi-levelled system that portrays all the symptoms of such, resulting in a slow turning structure - from regulation to doing. That’s not a criticism but a statement of fact, as the electricity grid has been described many times as the biggest and most complex infrastructure machine ever built by man. Yes the claim surprised me too!

SEANZ welcomes the Government’s decision to phase out the Low Fixed User Charge (LFUC) as it has created unfair pricing for electricity, where one group subsidises another.