Solar for Schools

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cshwone

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#324854 3-Jun-2026 10:02

This looks like a really good initiative and will provide good, practical support to schools and communities.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/360987247/solar-panels-coming-500-schools-30-million-government-initiative

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#3499788 3-Jun-2026 10:21

Seems like a good idea. That's why I can't figure out why this government is doing it 😀

With the current upward power prices and low panel costs, anyone with daytime occupancy and lots of roof space should consider the same thing.

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boosacnoodle

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#3499792 3-Jun-2026 10:38

elpenguino:

Seems like a good idea. That's why I can't figure out why this government is doing it 😀

Schools are paid an allowance for energy costs. With them going up, the amount that needs to be paid to schools will also be going up. This is just a sensible way to get those costs down. Nothing more to read into it.

cruxis

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#3499895 3-Jun-2026 13:53

It’s great that schools use most of their power during the day when solar output is highest. The only drawback is that peak summer generation hits during the holidays, when there’s no one there to use it. Using that energy on‑site would be far more valuable than exporting it, so a strong export tariff would really help offset those higher winter costs.

wellygary

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#3499907 3-Jun-2026 14:38

cruxis:

a strong export tariff would really help offset those higher winter costs.

The ability to build commercial scale solar with a cost over 35 years of under @10c/Kwh means the days of any high export tariffs are coming to an end...

mattwnz

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#3499912 3-Jun-2026 14:51

Isn’t this more of an admission that the current electricity market that National caused, has failed and too expensive. I mean schools operate in off peak times anyway so power should be cheaper for them anyway. This combined with the LNG plant they have to build. If we want a cheaper and better electricty network, surely we should be investing our taxpayer money in that for everyone, and large battery farms to redundancy and for storage of solar. IMO that would make far more sense than this and the LNG plant which I can see Labour/Greens canceling anyway if they get in, at huge taxpayer expense.

MikeAqua

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#3499921 3-Jun-2026 15:25

mattwnz:

Isn’t this more of an admission that the current electricity market that National caused, has failed and too expensive. I mean schools operate in off peak times anyway so power should be cheaper for them anyway. This combined with the LNG plant they have to build

According to the article I read, solar will replace gas or coal boilers that were due for replacement with solar power (and presumably heat pumps). On that basis, it's taking opportunities for both cost saving and decarbonisation.

Our schools tend to have a lot of single storied buildings (high roof arae to room volume ratio) and the power requirements aren't huge. They're claiming up to GWh per year will be generated.

It's smart policy as far as I can tell.

Mike

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cshwone

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#3499924 3-Jun-2026 15:30

wellygary:

cruxis:

a strong export tariff would really help offset those higher winter costs.

The ability to build commercial scale solar with a cost over 35 years of under @10c/Kwh means the days of any high export tariffs are coming to an end...

I can't quite get your logic here - why are the two linked. Commercial solar is just like any other power source feeding the grid be it wind, hydro etc. Why should that impact residential buy back prices while we are still short of generation capability?

wellygary

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#3499930 3-Jun-2026 15:45

cshwone:

I can't quite get your logic here - why are the two linked. Commercial solar is just like any other power source feeding the grid be it wind, hydro etc. Why should that impact residential buy back prices while we are still short of generation capability?

Because the way that the national grid operates is that it dispatches the cheapest power first, and when solar is running ( day time) we are not generally short of generation capacity.

If there are large amounts of 10c solar kicking round the grid in the middle of the day, that would tend to drag down the average grid price and thus cap the price would get offered to Home solar (who typically get shafted on buy in anyway)

mattwnz

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#3499936 3-Jun-2026 16:01

MikeAqua:

mattwnz:

Isn’t this more of an admission that the current electricity market that National caused, has failed and too expensive. I mean schools operate in off peak times anyway so power should be cheaper for them anyway. This combined with the LNG plant they have to build

According to the article I read, solar will replace gas or coal boilers that were due for replacement with solar power (and presumably heat pumps). On that basis, it's taking opportunities for both cost saving and decarbonisation.

Our schools tend to have a lot of single storied buildings (high roof arae to room volume ratio) and the power requirements aren't huge. They're claiming up to GWh per year will be generated.

It's smart policy as far as I can tell.

Potentially. But they also require a reasonable amount of maintenance and inverters have a more limited life than panels and are costly . I mean someone will have to get up on the roof to clean them regularly and as it is a school , they will likely require scaffolding for health and safety and that isn’t cheap. Whereas there appears to be a lot of solar farms planned to be built in rural NZ on farmland. As it is election season it does feel more of an election bribe and to give the impression they are green imo, as they had nearly 3 years to announce such a policy.

MikeAqua

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#3499937 3-Jun-2026 16:10

mattwnz:

Potentially. But they also require a reasonable amount of maintenance and inverters have a more limited life than panels and are costly . I mean someone will have to get up on the roof to clean them regularly and as it is a school , they will likely require scaffolding for health and safety and that isn’t cheap. Whereas there appears to be a lot of solar farms planned to be built in rural NZ on farmland. As it is election season it does feel more of an election bribe and to give the impression they are green imo, as they had nearly 3 years to announce such a policy.

Have you ever been responsible for maintaining a boiler? They tend to have a few maintenance requirements as well.

Mike

mattwnz

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#3499940 3-Jun-2026 16:37

MikeAqua:

mattwnz:

Potentially. But they also require a reasonable amount of maintenance and inverters have a more limited life than panels and are costly . I mean someone will have to get up on the roof to clean them regularly and as it is a school , they will likely require scaffolding for health and safety and that isn’t cheap. Whereas there appears to be a lot of solar farms planned to be built in rural NZ on farmland. As it is election season it does feel more of an election bribe and to give the impression they are green imo, as they had nearly 3 years to announce such a policy.

Have you ever been responsible for maintaining a boiler? They tend to have a few maintenance requirements as well.

Sure but with electricity they are going to have to purchase other new forms of heating in addition to solar generation . Heat pump installation, maintenance and will be costly and they don’t generally last as long either as old radiators. Always pros and cons imo.

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Goosey

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#3499942 3-Jun-2026 16:47

There’s a high school in Christchurch already well involved.

see article from earlier this year…

https://www.thepress.co.nz/business/360942739/christchurch-high-school-gets-free-solar-panels-and-25-years-cheaper-power

elpenguino

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#3499949 3-Jun-2026 17:13

cruxis:

It’s great that schools use most of their power during the day when solar output is highest. The only drawback is that peak summer generation hits during the holidays, when there’s no one there to use it. Using that energy on‑site would be far more valuable than exporting it, so a strong export tariff would really help offset those higher winter costs.

I think you're on the wrong track about summer generation. Assuming you're aiming to meet your own energy needs, you are better off optimising your system for winter generation - and then you have surplus energy in summer.

Most installations are not optimised for winter generation anyway - panels are mounted to match the roof profile, not at a right angle of the sun's elevation at winter noon.

But with the low cost of panels, the usual answer is not to use a more effective panel mounting angle but just to add more panels.

Most of the posters in this thread are just like chimpanzees on MDMA, full of feelings of bonhomie, joy, and optimism. Fred99 8/4/21

Handle9

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#3499952 3-Jun-2026 17:30

MikeAqua:

mattwnz:

Isn’t this more of an admission that the current electricity market that National caused, has failed and too expensive. I mean schools operate in off peak times anyway so power should be cheaper for them anyway. This combined with the LNG plant they have to build

According to the article I read, solar will replace gas or coal boilers that were due for replacement with solar power (and presumably heat pumps). On that basis, it's taking opportunities for both cost saving and decarbonisation.

Our schools tend to have a lot of single storied buildings (high roof arae to room volume ratio) and the power requirements aren't huge. They're claiming up to GWh per year will be generated.

It's smart policy as far as I can tell.

It's not like electricity reform and local generation are mutually exclusive. It would appear to be a no brainer, especially when it looks like 2/3 of the funding is coming from EECA (ie the electricty levy) rather than from the education vote.

Handle9

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#3499954 3-Jun-2026 17:33

mattwnz:

MikeAqua:

Have you ever been responsible for maintaining a boiler? They tend to have a few maintenance requirements as well.

Sure but with electricity they are going to have to purchase other new forms of heating in addition to solar generation . Heat pump installation, maintenance and will be costly and they don’t generally last as long either as old radiators. Always pros and cons imo.

If new plant is going to be purchased regardless then it make complete sense it is electric. You can install a heat pump boiler and still use the radiators. You seem incredibly negative about what seems to be a very sensible policy.

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