New Zealand electricity company leaders say solar power has become part of the energy mix for consumers but less so than in Australia.
In a panel discussion at the 2016 Downstream energy sector conference in Auckland yesterday, the leaders of several electricity generator-retailers and lines companies talked about the changing face of New Zealand's energy industry, including the uptake of solar power.
The latest figures from the Sustainable Energy Association show there have been 8400 installations of solar power to the end of 2015, with an increase of 800 to 3500 last year over 2014.
By comparison, Australia has installed 1.5 million photo voltaic systems on rooftops with some states such as Queensland and South Australia showing a 29.4 per cent and 28.4 per cent penetration of households respectively, said Tom Butler from the Clean Energy Council in Australia. But he admitted it had been something of a "solar coaster" with booms during times of high subsidies which are not available in New Zealand.
Contact Energy chief executive Dennis Barnes said other differences between the two countries included Australia being sunnier than New Zealand and also having sunnier conditions at times of peak demand unlike in this country when the peak occurred during cold weather.
