The uptake of solar on farms and in primary industry processing is increasing, but there is no single organisation keeping tabs on how widespread it is, how much power is generated or how much farmers are selling into the grid.
Energy generators and retailers canvassed by Farmers Weekly, such as Mercury, said their data shows who uses solar to generate power, but can’t tell which users are farmers.
Lisa Hannifin, Meridian chief customer officer, said over the past 12 months, around 18,000 Meridian customers exported about 85 gigawatt‑hours of solar generation back into the grid, enough power for about 12,000 homes.
Of that total around 10% was from farming customers, she said.
A Electricity Authority spokesperson said it tracks solar uptake across four categories: residential, small and medium enterprises, commercial and industrial, and it’s not easy to define a farm within these categories.
Retailers entering their data in the Electricity Registry can categorise farms as industrial, SME or both, with ambiguity around the classification of farms with residential properties, the spokesperson said.
Data over the past 12 years shows solar across all categories has increased, with 2295 connections in 2013 and 80,406 in December 2025. This would include farms.
There are multiple national players in the solar space, with none defining farms.
There are also a number of solar trial farms across the country, such as Fonterra’s Net Zero Pilot Dairy Farm in Taranaki, and multiple solar providers, often not aware of what other players do.
Rural Energy, for example, says on its website that it powers over 400 Waikato farms.
A renewable energy consultant at Ernest Energy in Southland, Tim Campbell, said most new solar installations install an import-export meter that allows users to export power back into the grid.
Clients who sell back into the grid usually get a credit on their bill, Campbell said.
To date Ernest Energy has installed solar on sheep and on dairy farms, and quoted for installations on about 50 farms, with about nine installations in progress.
Clients use solar to chill milk, irrigate, run effluent systems and also switch energy supply from the farm to their home when needed.
He speculates only 1% of farmers have adopted solar.
Farmlands Flex key accounts manager Richard Hawke said he expects a tidal wave of installations as the price of solar hardware drops and electricity prices increase.
Farmlands Flex is an electricity trading platform using software to sell power back into the grid on the spot market at times of high demand and high prices, allowing farmers to generate revenue.
Hawke cautioned against getting caught up in payback timeframe promises that ignore the fact that system installations are often financed.
He said solar puts the power back into the hands of farmers and farm owners.
For example, a farm owner can generate power, sell it to a share milker, but also sell it back into the grid when demand is high.
CEO of Rewiring Aotearoa and cherry orchardist Mike Casey said farmers can contribute to the New Zealand electricity system when it needs it most, during winter, exporting energy when cows are dried off and orchards don’t produce fruit, easing pressure on generators.
He couldn’t tell how many farmers or primary industry users have solar installed, and said it would be hard to find that information.
The cost of commercial solar varies, but could be as low as a third of the price of power from the grid, and as low as a fifth to a 10th the price of diesel, if diesel is used to generate electricity, Casey said.
He knows of sawmills, dairy, and pig and chicken farmers using solar.
Farmers can help New Zealand move away from importing fossil fuels, he said.
Southland dairy farmer Chris Stewart and his business partner use solar because it ticks environmental boxes and creates business resilience.
They run the entire farm off solar, including fences, pumps and chilling milk.
“We charge [batteries] using night rates to start the morning off. When the sun comes up it helps finish off milking and chilling. Solar then generates enough energy to do the afternoon milking and start the battery charging process.”
The farm runs on 137 solar panels generating around 70kW of power, with 200kW of battery storage.
During recent Southland wind storms and power cuts they milked twice a day without dumping milk.
Because dairy uses a lot of energy, the return on investment comes from cutting power costs, Stewart said.
The investment cost about $170,000, including installation.
Stewart hopes to save 60% on their bill once their system is complete.
Central Otago farmer Emma Crutchley farms sheep and beef, and irrigates about 460 hectares of forage and crops. Energy costs are a big part of farm working expenses.
Crutchley’s wool shed is supported by solar, with excess energy sold back into the grid.
Commodity price swings should not deter farmers from investing in long-term solutions, she said. Low commodity prices are no reason to avoid tackling costs, and neither are high prices, when energy costs appear lower against stronger income, she said.
With the cost of batteries coming down, future investment in solar on the farm will include batteries that will carry irrigation through most of the night, reducing costs significantly, she said.
The farm isn’t making high returns from selling energy into the grid, but the power generated removes a significant chunk off the power bill.
Pic’s Peanut Butter CEO Aimee McCammon said Pic’s Peanut Butter World installed 486 solar panels. Overall, solar supplies about 30% of its power needs, with the roaster, which roasts 16 tonnes of peanuts a day, the most power-hungry part of operations.
Excluding capital installation costs, solar is a no-brainer, she said. Solar makes sense not only because it ticks the sustainability box for Pic’s, which is a B Corp, but also because Nelson, where it is based, is the second sunniest place in New Zealand.
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