Green Investment Finance (NZGIF) is investing another $30 million to help boost the number of solar panel installations on large-scale commercial buildings with big roofs.
File image. Photo: Joshua M. Pearce, CC BY-SA
The government established the investment bank about three years ago with $100m to fund ventures aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions, making its loan to solarZero one of its largest.
NZGIF earlier helped solarZero with a $10m bank facility to finance solar installations and had committed an additional $30m to accelerate that work.
SolarZero would use the funds to offer customers long-term power purchase agreements (PPA) to establish solar installations on commercial buildings with big roofs, it said.
Under the PPA, end customers would not pay any upfront costs for the installation of the solar roof panels, while solarZero would make money by charging those customers for the power generated by the solar panels as part of a long-term contract.
"This facility with solarZero, and future investments, will make it easier and quicker for commercial enterprises to adopt solar and will show them that acting sustainably and reducing emissions can deliver both economic and environmental benefits - every client that signs up for solar is not only saving on energy costs but also doing their part to shift the dial on climate change," NZGIF chief executive Craig Weise said.
SolarZero chief executive and founder Andrew Booth said the company had been working closely with a number of major corporations and hoped to announce its first customer early next year.