ASB offers farmers interest-free loans for solar installations

ASB Bank will launch a promotion at Fieldays to encourage farmers to install solar power. Photo / Bloomberg

ASB Bank is offering farmers five-year, interest-free loans of up to $150,000 for the installation of solar and battery systems on their properties.

The bank said farm electricity costs are rising, with the average 2025/26 season power bill expected to be around $28,000 for owner-operated dairy farms.

It said a survey of 1000 farmers showed 70% were interested in installing solar, particularly as farmers brace for another season of high electricity prices.

ASB engaged Prism Earth to develop online interactive tools to help farmers assess the benefits of solar for their business, including pioneering capability for farmers to map good locations for solar on their farm.

The bank said the tools - available “shortly” - would enable farmers to calculate their potential energy and emissions savings from solar and expected payback time from investment.

ASB said the key barrier for farmers taking on solar was the high upfront cost.

“Most farms had rooftop space available for solar, and 60% of farmers said they had land which could be used for solar without reducing production,” the bank said.

ASB said a 250sq m ground solar system could save farmers up to $598,200 over the lifetime of the panels from avoided grid costs, at a median installation cost of $110,600.

While every farm is different, the bank said farmers could expect to pay back their solar set-up from as early as its sixth year of generation.

ASB general manager rural, Aidan Gent, said farmers needed affordable, reliable energy.

“Solar generation will help farmers work smoothly through power outages and extreme weather events, when rural communities are often the last to be reconnected,” he said.

Going solar typically means investing in panels and in batteries to store power when the sun is not shining.

Gent said farmers spend a lot of money on power, particularly in places like Canterbury, where irrigation is common.

Farmers also felt more and more pressure every time there’s a severe weather event and the impact that they sometimes have on power supply.

“I think the other piece is just the cost inflation that’s going on, from an electricity perspective.

“So if you can generate solar at 7 cents a kilowatt hour instead of buying it at 35 cents a kilowatt hour, it makes sense.”

Jamie Gray is an Auckland-based journalist, covering the financial markets and the primary sector. He joined the Herald in 2011.