Successful bid price of PV energy storage project in New Zealand 2030

Is solar PV a viable option for New Zealand households?

This is the first study in New Zealand to use detailed and high-quality data for both solar supply and residential demand. It shows solar PV is likely to be financially viable for a significant proportion of New Zealand households, particularly for those who consume a lot of energy.

Does the Electricity Authority support solar PV & energy storage?

Both solar PV and energy storage have seen increasing support from the Electricity Authority. Indeed, the organisation is actively looking to improve regulations to support more investment in energy storage and new generation, including residential solar PV, to enhance the security of supply.

Can batteries improve the economic value of solar PV?

It was found that batteries can improve the economic value of solar PV, but are often outcompeted by the use of existing hot water cylinders for energy storage, such as by installing a diverter to direct excess solar energy into hot water heating.

What are the economic benefits of solar PV with energy storage?

It highlights one of the key economic benefits of solar PV with energy storage to New Zealand – as a replacement for peaking generation, and limiting the size of the transmission and distribution networks.

Can time-of-use retail prices improve the return of solar PV?

In the last section it was shown that time-of-use retail prices can, in some cases, improve the rate of return of solar PV with a battery compared to PV without a battery. However, the improvement is small and often occurs when there is a lower return for a system with a battery relative to one without.

Will more investment be needed to stabilise New Zealand's electricity system?

Sarah Gillies tells PV Tech Premium that greater investment will be needed to stabilise the New Zealand electricity system, as the next two years will ‘continue to be challenging’. Image: Far North Solar Farm.