Guide
Government subsidies for solar in NZ: what businesses and farms can actually get
Michael Wilkins · Updated 2 October 2026 · 3 min read
The short answer
There is no government subsidy, grant or rebate for solar panels in New Zealand as at October 2026, for households, businesses or farms; EECA's Solar on Farms fund closed in October 2025. Businesses can use the Investment Boost tax deduction and bank green lending, and the largest energy users can get EECA co-funding for feasibility studies.
Is there a government subsidy for solar in New Zealand?
No. As at October 2026 there is no national subsidy, grant or rebate for buying solar panels, for homes, businesses or farms. EECA's Warmer Kiwi Homes programme covers insulation, heat pumps and similar upgrades, not solar. If a page tells you otherwise, check its date: plenty still describe funds that have closed.
What has closed
These are the programmes most often quoted as solar funding. None is open to a business or farm wanting solar today.
| Programme | What it funded | Status, October 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| EECA Solar on Farms demonstration fund | Up to 40 percent of inverters and batteries and 20 percent of panels on demonstration farms, capped at $200,000 a farm | Closed 16 October 2025; 40 farms selected, 37 under way by May 2026 |
| EECA Technology Demonstration Fund | Co-funding for new energy technology projects | Ended |
| Government Investment in Decarbonising Industry (GIDI) fund | Industrial process heat and decarbonisation | Closed; applications ended in 2023 |
| EECA Efficient Demand Flexibility | Up to 40 percent of batteries and controls for sites with at least 125 kW of flexible demand | Closed 15 May 2026 |
| Community Renewable Energy Fund | Renewable energy for community buildings | Closed; no longer contestable |
| Solar on Schools | Solar for state schools | Schools only; expressions of interest closed 7 September 2026 |
What a business or farm can use today
- The Investment Boost: 20 percent of a new system's cost deducted in the year it is first available for use, worth about 5.6 percent of the cost in tax for a company. It is the closest thing to a government incentive for business solar, and it is a deduction, not a discount. See it at your rate in the Investment Boost calculator.
- Bank green lending: ASB's Smart Solar Loan for ASB Rural customers' on-farm solar and batteries, a dated offer our calculator shows only while its terms match ASB's page, and business green or sustainability loans from ASB, ANZ, BNZ, Westpac and Kiwibank, which discount the rate rather than the price. Compared in solar finance for NZ businesses.
- EECA co-funding, for large energy users only: 40 percent of a feasibility study or business case, up to $50,000, for organisations spending more than $1.5 million a year on energy. Few farms or small businesses qualify.
- Peak export rebates: since 1 April 2026 lines companies pay rebates for power exported at network peaks, but the rule only requires them on household and business connections up to 45 kVA, and retailers need not pass them on. Most commercial systems sit outside it (buy-back rates for businesses).
What the election could change
The general election is on 7 November 2026, and the parties' solar pledges are for households. National has proposed solar loans for homeowners repaid through rates, and making ground-mounted farm solar permitted as of right. Labour has proposed up to $3,000 towards solar for low and middle-income households, with low-interest loans. The Greens also propose loans and subsidies. None is law, and none is aimed at business systems.
The bigger question for businesses is the Investment Boost itself: Labour has proposed replacing it with a $10,000 instant write-off for businesses with turnover under $10 million from 1 July 2027. We will update this guide after the election.
Why commercial solar does not need a subsidy
Subsidies made sense when panels were expensive. Today a well-matched commercial system pays back in roughly 4.5 to 10 years on its own savings in our worked examples, because every kWh used on site avoids the per-kWh charges on the bill, 20.4 to 25.5 cents in our model. The case rests on your load shape, the tax treatment and the finance, as the payback table in commercial solar costs and payback shows.
We work only with businesses and farms. For your farm, start with farm solar; for any other business, the calculator below.
Your numbers
Run your own numbers
Your farm or business
Your indicative numbers
Conservative, ex GST, modelled not promised
Measure
- Power used
- 188,235 kWh a year
- Your spend at 25.5c a kWh ex GST, the national commercial average.
- Power bill
- $48,000 a year
Design
- System
- 83 kW
- Sized to your daytime load.
- Generates
- 101,260 kWh a year
- Used on site
- 80%
- The rest exports at 8c a kWh.
- Installed cost
- $124,263 to $165,526
- Confirmed with certified installers.
Finance
- Investment Boost, year one
- about $8,114
- A 20% immediate tax deduction, worth this in cash at the 28% company rate. Not a discount.
- ASB Smart Solar Loan
- $2,415 a month
- 0% for 5 years. Reverts to a floating business rate after five years. Terms checked against asb.co.nz on 9 October 2026. ASB may change or withdraw the offer; the calculator only shows it while it matches.
- Estimated saving
- $1,684 a month
- Mid estimate, set against the repayment while the loan runs.
Outcome
- Saving
- $18,146 to $22,277 a year
- Payback
- 5.5 to 8.5 years
- Net of the Investment Boost benefit.
- Emissions avoided
- 6.0 t CO₂e a year
- Asset life
- 25+ years
- Panels keep producing long after payback.
How this is modelled (assumptions v2026-10-v7)
- Power valued at $0.20 to $0.26/kWh ex GST (savings are never valued at the top of the commercial tariff range).
- Export credited at $0.08/kWh, the conservative end of current buy-back rates.
- Installed cost interpolated from 30 kW ($1,800 to $2,600/kW) down to 500 kW ($1,100 to $1,500/kW), 2025/26 working ranges.
- Central Otago and Queenstown Lakes yield modelled at 1220 kWh per kW per year.
- Self-consumption capped by your daytime usage profile and held below typical vendor claims; sizing targets 90 percent of daytime load.
- Investment Boost stated as the year-one cash value of the 20 percent immediate deduction at the 28 percent company rate. It is a tax timing benefit, not a discount.
- No power price escalation and no panel degradation in simple payback; omitting escalation outweighs degradation, so the net effect is conservative.
Indicative only; not financial or tax advice. The feasibility study models your site from twelve months of actual bills.
Next step
Get these numbers checked properly
The real model is built from twelve months of your bills. Send your details and we will do it for you; we reply within one working day, no obligation.
Straight answers
The questions we get asked
Is there a government subsidy for solar panels in NZ?
No. As at October 2026 there is no national subsidy, grant or rebate for solar panels for households, businesses or farms. EECA's Solar on Farms fund closed in October 2025 and has no successor. Businesses can use the Investment Boost tax deduction and bank green lending instead.
Is EECA's Solar on Farms fund still open?
No. It closed to applications on 16 October 2025 after 237 applications. EECA selected 40 farms and 37 demonstration projects were under way by May 2026. EECA says it will publish return-on-investment tools and benchmarks from the farms; no second round has been announced.
Can my business get EECA funding for solar?
Only as a large energy user. EECA co-funds 40 percent of feasibility studies and business cases, up to $50,000, for organisations spending more than $1.5 million a year on energy, and its audit and optimisation programmes need more than $3 million. Its business programmes for batteries and new technology are closed.
Are there solar rebates in New Zealand?
Not for buying a system. Since 1 April 2026 lines companies pay rebates for power exported at network peaks, but the rule only requires them for households and businesses on connections up to 45 kVA, and retailers are not required to pass them on.
Will there be solar subsidies after the election?
Possibly for households. Ahead of the 7 November 2026 election, National, Labour and the Greens have all proposed household solar loans or subsidies. None is law and none targets business systems; Labour has also proposed replacing the Investment Boost from 1 July 2027.
More from this guide
- Commercial solar in New Zealand: costs, payback and how to decide
- Investment Boost on solar: what the 20 percent deduction is actually worth
- Solar buy-back rates for businesses: export is not the prize
- What a commercial solar feasibility study includes, and when you need one
- Solar finance for NZ businesses: loans, PPAs and what actually stacks
- Solar power for dairy farms: the honest numbers
- Solar for wineries and vineyards: Marlborough to Central Otago
- Solar for cold stores and packhouses: refrigeration is the load
- Solar for irrigation in NZ: pivots, pump sheds and what solar really saves
- Commercial electricity prices in NZ: what South Island businesses pay in 2026
- Is solar worth it for a NZ business? Payback by sector and region
Skip the grant hunt. Run the numbers.
Commercial solar stands on its own savings. Two minutes in the calculator, with the Investment Boost and any live finance applied.