NZ Green Investment Fund failure flagged

A social post flagged that New Zealand’s government-backed Green Investment Fund reportedly wrote off about NZ$133.3 million tied to loans for solar company SolarZero. (nbr.co.nz) New Zealand Green Investment Finance (NZGIF) was created in 2019 as a Crown-backed green investment vehicle to accelerate low-emissions projects. (treasury.govt.nz) NZGIF agreed a NZ$145 million lending facility for SolarZero, and officials say roughly NZ$115 million had been drawn by the time the company failed. (newsroom.co.nz) SolarZero was placed into voluntary liquidation in late November 2024 after its majority owner BlackRock and the company’s directors said losses were unsustainable. (rnz.co.nz) On 8 April 2025 Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced the government would stop NZGIF making new investments and instructed a managed wind‑down of its existing portfolio. (beehive.govt.nz) The fund’s leadership has faced criticism over pay: The Post reported NZGIF chief executive Sarah Minhinnick was on NZ$949,645 a year, and earlier reporting shows a previous chief executive received termination benefits that took total pay to about NZ$1.02 million. (waikatotimes.co.nz) Liquidators disclosed SolarZero had 598 unsecured creditors who together were owed NZ$39,086,877, according to their reports to creditors. (b2bnews.co.nz) Journalists reported installers and suppliers were unpaid and around 25 installation companies were chasing invoices while SolarZero staff were owed about NZ$1.5 million in holiday and notice pay; others estimate roughly 15,000 customer contracts are affected. (newsroom.co.nz) Ministers and Treasury now point to the episode when arguing NZGIF has delivered “very limited results” on almost NZ$400 million invested and must return capital to the Crown during an orderly wind‑down. (beehive.govt.nz)