Westpac NZ earned recognition for its contribution to making solar power more affordable and accessible to New Zealand homeowners when it won The Business Institutional Banking Innovation Award at the INFINZ awards last night.

“We’re thrilled Westpac NZ has been recognised for its innovation in developing the first Solar Energy Services Facility in New Zealand,” says solarcity CEO Andrew Booth.

“As a result, hundreds of homeowners have been able to go solar through our smart solarZero and solarzero+ energy services which eliminate the capital costs of the solar equipment and batteries, and can help them beat the rising price of power.

“Rather than buying a solar system and battery, which can cost around $23,500 for an average home, we offer Kiwi families an affordable way to buy clean solar energy, generated on their roof by solar panels that we own and manage. They simply pay a low, fixed monthly fee for our solarZero energy services that provide inflation-free solar energy and improved home energy efficiency for 20 years.”

As power prices have gone up more than 150% in the past 20 years, locking in the price for solar could save homeowners thousands of dollars over the long term.

The solarZero model is a fundamental change to how solar and electricity is delivered to New Zealand consumers.

“Thanks to our partnership with Westpac NZ, we’ve been able to make solar power an affordable, green option for all New Zealanders.

“The government has a goal of achieving 90% renewable electricity by 2025 and solar is going to be a vital part of that energy mix.”