New Zealand Solar Is Changing: Is Your Business Ready?

New Zealand’s solar industry is entering an important period of change.

With solar and battery adoption continuing to grow, a series of regulatory and network connection changes are being introduced during 2026. For solar businesses, these changes put an increasing focus on consistent system design, accurate system information, appropriate equipment selection and well-documented projects.

For solar professionals still relying on a combination of spreadsheets, separate design tools, manual calculations and disconnected customer documents, now is a good time to review whether those processes are ready for what comes next.

The good news is that many of the tools needed to create a more consistent solar workflow are already available in OpenSolar for free.

What is changing for solar in New Zealand?

Several changes are taking effect in 2026.

One of the most significant comes on 1 December 2026, when new Electricity Industry Participation Code requirements for distributed generation connections come into force.

The Electricity Authority is introducing new application processes for distributed generation, including separate pathways for systems below 10 kW, systems above 10 kW and below 300 kW, and larger installations. The aim is to make network connections faster, more consistent and more transparent across New Zealand.

Changes to export limits are also being introduced. The new framework includes a default 10 kW export limit for small-scale distributed generation using the streamlined application process, while allowing distributors to impose lower limits where network constraints can be demonstrated or offer dynamic or flexible export limits.

Equipment and installation requirements are changing too. The updated rules introduce requirements around AS/NZS 4777.1:2024 for relevant streamlined distributed-generation applications and AS/NZS 4777.2:2020, including Amendments 1 and 2, for low-voltage distributed generation. New requirements for inverter settings are also being progressively introduced during 2026.

Separately, changes to New Zealand’s Electricity (Safety) Regulations mean that from 13 November 2026, electrical workers must use AS/NZS 3000:2018 including Amendments 1, 2 and 3, with Certificates of Compliance required to identify the cited version used.

Together, these changes point towards an industry where having accurate, repeatable and well-documented design processes is becoming increasingly important.

What does this mean for solar businesses?

The changes aren’t simply about choosing a compliant inverter.

A modern solar project involves bringing together information about the site, customer energy consumption, system capacity, modules, inverters, batteries, orientation, shading, expected generation, pricing and network requirements.

Managing that information across multiple systems can create unnecessary opportunities for mistakes or inconsistencies. It also becomes more difficult to ensure that what was designed, what was quoted to the customer, and what is ultimately installed all match.

This is exactly where having a platform built specifically around the complete solar project can help.

How OpenSolar can help

OpenSolar provides New Zealand solar professionals with a single platform to design, sell and manage solar and battery projects.

Instead of creating a design in one system, calculating performance somewhere else and manually transferring information into quotes and other documents, your OpenSolar project becomes a central source of information for the system.

1. Create site-specific solar designs

OpenSolar allows you to model a customer’s property and create a system using your selected modules, inverters and batteries.

You can incorporate factors including panel placement, orientation, pitch and shading into the design, helping your team develop a site-specific system rather than relying on generic assumptions. This becomes increasingly valuable as greater emphasis is placed on demonstrating appropriate system design and expected performance.

2. Model energy production and customer savings

Add the customer’s consumption and electricity tariff and OpenSolar can model expected solar generation, consumption, exports and financial savings. That gives both your team and your customer a clearer picture of how the proposed system is expected to perform.

3. Keep system specifications connected to the project

Hardware selections, system size, design information, pricing and customer details can all be maintained within the same project. This helps reduce double handling and creates a clearer record of the system that was proposed to the customer.

4. Produce clearer, more consistent customer proposals

OpenSolar automatically turns your system design and modelling into a professional customer proposal.

Your proposals can include system specifications, solar production, expected energy savings, pricing, warranties and other important information about the proposed installation. This helps businesses create a repeatable quoting process while giving customers clearer information about what they are purchasing.

Importantly, OpenSolar is a tool to support your design and project processes — installers and designers remain responsible for ensuring each installation and its documentation meets applicable New Zealand regulations, standards and network requirements.

A broader shift towards installation quality

The regulatory changes are happening alongside a broader focus on quality within New Zealand’s growing solar industry.

EECA is currently developing an endorsement framework for solar installer accreditation programmes. Its proposed criteria include site-specific system design, consideration of shading and orientation, indicative energy yield, clear system specifications and warranties, transparent quotes, installation quality and customer handover.

For solar businesses, the direction is clear: good processes and good documentation are becoming increasingly important as the market matures.

New to OpenSolar? Start here.

OpenSolar is free to use, so you can create an account and start building your first project straight away.

If you’re setting up OpenSolar for the first time, we recommend starting with these resources:

1. Getting Started with OpenSolar: Set up your organisation, team, hardware, pricing and other basic account settings. View guide >
2. How to Design Your First Project: Follow the complete process from creating a customer project and entering energy consumption through to designing the system and producing your proposal. Read more >
3. OpenSolar Help Centre: Search our guides and videos covering design, hardware, pricing, proposals, project management and the wider OpenSolar platform. Visit Help Centre >

For most businesses, these resources are enough to get started and begin building projects in OpenSolar.

Need help setting up OpenSolar for your business?

If you’re moving from another platform, have a larger team, or want OpenSolar configured around an established sales and operational workflow, we can also help.

OpenSolar offers additional paid support, training and customisation services for businesses that need more than our standard free platform and support. This can include assistance with account configuration and onboarding, team training, workflow optimisation, customised proposals and customer documents, and other requirements for larger or more complex organisations.

Talk to the OpenSolar team to discuss your current process and how OpenSolar could fit into your business.

With significant changes arriving for New Zealand solar in 2026, now is a good time to make sure the systems behind your solar business are ready too.