Solar Buyback Rates NZ (2026): What Retailers Pay for Your Export

When your panels generate more than your home is using, the surplus flows to the grid and your electricity retailer credits you for it. In New Zealand that credit is called a solar buyback rate, and, unlike some countries, there is no regulated or mandated feed-in tariff. Each retailer sets its own rate as part of its plans, and you are free to switch retailers to chase a better one.

Across the market in mid 2026, buyback rates sit around 7-12c/kWh. Compare that with grid electricity at roughly 35c/kWh and the central fact of NZ solar economics jumps out: a kWh you use yourself is worth roughly three to five times a kWh you export. Buyback is a bonus; self-consumption is the business case.

Rates as verified June 2026. Retailers change buyback rates and plan structures regularly; always check the current rate and the rest of the plan (daily charge, variable rates) before switching.

Two practical notes. First, a high buyback rate attached to expensive consumption rates can cost you more overall: judge the whole plan, not one number. Second, some retailers offer time-varying buyback or solar-specific plans; if you export a lot, these are worth modelling against your actual generation pattern.

The arithmetic at 2026 rates:

• Export a kWh: earn 7-12c.
• Use a kWh yourself: avoid buying it at about 35c.

Self-consumed solar is worth roughly 3-5x exported solar. That single ratio should drive how you set up your home:

1. Run heavy appliances in daylight. Dishwasher, washing machine and dryer on delay-start timers through the middle of the day.
2. Heat your water on solar. A hot water heat pump on a midday timer turns surplus generation into stored hot water, the cheapest "battery" you can own.
3. Charge the EV during the day when possible: a solar-diverting charger automates it.
4. Then, and only then, think about a battery for whatever surplus remains.

A battery lets you store daytime surplus and use it in the evening, converting 7-12c export value into 35c avoided-purchase value. The catch is the hardware price:

• Tesla Powerwall 3 (13.5kWh): $14,000-16,000 installed. Tesla's current "Next Million Powerwall Rebate" promotion (a Tesla offer, not a government one) takes $850 off per unit, up to $1,700, and is flagged as time-limited.
• BYD and Sungrow systems: from about $9,000 installed.
• Expansion modules: roughly $440 per kWh of added capacity.

Cycling a 13.5kWh battery fully each day at the 25c gap between grid price and buyback saves about $3.40 a day, roughly $1,200 a year in the best case, before winter and weather realities trim it. That is an honest decade-ish payback at today's prices. The full working is in our battery guide.

For most homes, the order of operations is: solar first, self-consumption habits second, hot water heat pump third, battery last.

1. Estimate your export share. Homes empty during the day export more; homes with someone in them (or a heat pump timer) export less. Your inverter app will tell you within a month of going live.
2. Weigh buyback against the whole plan. A 2c better buyback on 2,000 exported kWh is $40 a year; a 2c worse consumption rate on 6,000 purchased kWh is $120 a year against you.
3. Check day/night structures. Cheap overnight rates pair well with EV charging and can complement, not compete with, daytime solar.
4. Re-shop annually. Buyback rates and plans move. Switching retailers in NZ is straightforward and free.

And if you are still at the "should I get solar at all" stage: a 5kW system at $11,000-13,000 installed is the standard starting point; our 5kW system guide covers the hardware choices.