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Franklin Energy Sharing Pilot
Climate Connect Aotearoa is collaborating with Ara Ake (the government’s future energy organisation) Counties Energy, and community organisations to pilot how, in the right regulatory and business scenario, homes and businesses in the community could benefit from sharing solar-generated energy – and lead to a smarter, more resilient and affordable energy system.
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Why is this initiative needed?
Currently, New Zealand households, organisations and businesses investing in solar panels and storage cannot easily share, donate or trade excess energy. Any unused generation is sent back to the grid, where generating customers tend to be offered a low rate from their existing retailer to buy back the power they’ve generated.
Meanwhile, many Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland households face high electricity costs but cannot afford the upfront cost of a rooftop solar system to enable them to benefit from savings. Regulatory barriers prevent peer-to-peer solar sharing, leading to a mismatch of supply and demand.
Expanding rooftop solar uptake can enhance climate resilience, increase renewable energy, and reduce emissions in the region.
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Our solution: the Franklin Energy Sharing Pilot
Launching in Q4 2025, the Franklin energy-sharing pilot will enable participating community organisations to receive gifted solar energy, reducing their power bills.
It will test the benefits of multiple trading relationships, allowing customers to either gift excess energy with a friend or neighbour or to trade their excess solar to the retailer offering the most competitive feed-in tariff, regardless of their primary electricity retailer whom they purchase their grid electricity from. This trading is currently not permitted under existing regulations.
A community-scale battery will store surplus solar energy for use during demand peaks, enhancing community resilience and network management.
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Practical and equitable outcomes
The energy-sharing pilot is intended to show how maximum benefit can be extracted from available low-carbon energy – through sharing it equitably in the community; and building resilience, sustainability, and stability into the energy system.
It will also model ways of overcoming regulatory obstacles for the common good, and yield opportunities for learning and knowledge-sharing.
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Climate Connect Aotearoa's role in this project
With overall oversight of project management, Climate Connect Aotearoa will navigate community and stakeholder engagement and communication; identify and engage with potential sources of community-generated energy; build relationships with (and support for) energy recipients; and design education and engagement programmes for delivery through the library.
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Project drivers
The project is supported by CCA’s strengths in bringing government, business and community stakeholders around an agreed climate problem, and the goal of connecting demand-led climate challenges to scalable solutions that offer many benefits, from social equity and inclusion to job creation.
It also supports Te Tāruke ā Tāwhiri action: develop, deliver and support local and regional decentralised renewable energy solutions.
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