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How does New Zealand’s household solar uptake compare with countries with similar average sunshine hours, such as Germany?

Answered Question 7135 (2026)
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Asked by

Megan Woods

Member for Wigram · Labour Party

Question

  • How does New Zealand’s household solar uptake compare with countries with similar average sunshine hours, such as Germany?

Answered by

Hon Simon Watts

Member for North Shore · National Party · Minister for Energy

Answer

New Zealand has around 75,000 residential solar installations, or 4 percent of households. This compares to around 15 percent in Germany, or 6 percent in the UK from publicly available data. Solar installations in New Zealand have increased by over 10,000 per year in each of the last two years.