500 New Zealand Schools Selected for $30m Solar Programme

The announcement moves the project into its delivery stage, with installations planned across the country during the next three years following assessments of individual school sites.

Five hundred schools across New Zealand have been chosen to receive solar technology through a $30 million Government programme designed to cut electricity costs, improve energy resilience and make greater use of renewable power on existing school buildings.

Energy Minister Simeon Brown and Education Minister Erica Stanford announced the selected schools at Te Papapa School in Auckland, which has become the first school to have solar panels installed through the pilot phase of the Solar on Schools programme funded in Budget 2026. The announcement moves the project into its delivery stage, with installations planned across the country during the next three years following assessments of individual school sites.

Solar Technology Heading to Schools Across New Zealand

Of the 500 schools selected, 340 are in the North Island, 157 are in the South Island and three are in the Chatham Islands, giving the programme a wide geographic reach while focusing investment on schools facing particular challenges with energy costs or reliability.

Schools were chosen for several reasons, including energy or fuel insecurity, higher energy costs, upcoming gas or diesel boiler replacements and a need for stronger energy resilience. Each site will undergo an assessment to determine whether it is suitable for solar technology before installation work begins, allowing systems to be planned around the buildings, energy requirements and conditions at individual schools.

Brown said the rollout would give participating schools greater certainty about adopting solar power while creating work for regional and local businesses involved in planning, designing and installing the systems. The nationwide programme is also expected to give the solar industry an opportunity to build its capability as renewable energy technology becomes more widely used across public buildings.

Large Schools Could Save Around $8,000 Each Year

Generating electricity directly from school rooftops is expected to reduce the amount of power participating schools need to draw from the grid, giving them a way to lower electricity bills while increasing renewable generation from buildings that are already in daily use.

Large schools are expected to save about $8,000 a year on average through reduced electricity costs, according to Stanford, potentially leaving more money available within school budgets for teaching, learning and other priorities. The panels will also provide students with a visible example of renewable energy generation operating within their own school environment.

Solar panels will form the core of the programme, while additional technology will be introduced at schools where it can provide further benefits based on energy use and local circumstances.

Batteries and Energy Management Systems Included

Up to 150 schools will receive energy management systems alongside their solar installations, while selected locations will also be equipped with batteries where assessments show that energy storage could provide the strongest financial savings or community resilience benefits.

Battery storage could allow electricity generated during sunny periods to be retained for later use rather than being consumed only at the time it is produced, giving suitable schools more flexibility in how they manage their energy needs and potentially providing added resilience during disruptions.

The Government is now seeking companies to help deliver the programme nationwide, with an Expression of Interest open through the Government Electronic Tenders Service for solar system planners, designers and installers.