Communities
When a household electrifies, they open up a range of financial, health and environmental benefits. When a community electrifies, that impact can be exponential: lower emissions, cleaner air, a supported local economy and more collective power.
That's why Rewiring Aotearoa is building a network of electric communities accelerating local electrification across the motu.
We can provide support, resources and guidance for these groups, but we need more people to provide the passion so we can build a national electrification movement from the bottom up.
Whether it’s by postcode, by region, by community or by interest -this is a local-led national movement.
So plug yourself in and let’s make New Zealand more electric!
Find your local group
Ready to electrify your community?
If you want to start a new group, add your support to an existing group, or you’re an existing group that wants to jump on the electrification bandwagon, check out the groups above or get in touch with us.
For the people, by the people
We’re also educating households, businesses and farms about the many economic and environmental benefits that come from swapping to electric machines.
By working together, we can share ideas, resources and energy to increase each community’s capacity and impact.
Why?
Around 30% of New Zealand’s domestic emissions come from small fossil fuel machines in our homes, most of which could be replaced with electric equivalents right now. One of the only ways we will meet our emissions targets is to rapidly replace the fossil fuel machines that sit in homes, driveways and businesses with efficient, electric versions powered by renewable energy from the national grid and from rooftop solar and batteries. Electrifying your home and transport is likely to bring down your cost of living, and will probably have a bigger impact on your emissions than any other decision you make. We want more people to be equipped with this information so their next purchasing decision is electric and we don’t lock in years or decades of fossil fuel emissions and high energy prices.
These purchasing decisions take place around dinner tables and boardroom tables and can be positively influenced and supported by trusted sources within the community. Electrification is sometimes easier said than done, however, and can be complicated for those without much knowledge. Community members can play a critical role smoothing out that process, providing information and assistance and helping to make New Zealand one of the world’s most electric economies.
What is an electric home? And how much could members of your community be saving?
How?
Rewiring Aotearoa is connecting with local groups to ensure we can all benefit from sharing, collaborating and connecting through:
- Access to an online space for groups to collaborate and share news and ideas.
- Sharing Rewiring Aotearoa’s resources such as flyers, event banners, graphs and illustrations and logo templates, including customisable resources to ensure localised content can be included.
- Online workshops and face-to-face events to build collective knowledge and identify collaboration opportunities.
- Creating a community group newsletter.
- Joint advocacy and collaborative activities.
- We can provide materials and connections for you to get started. And we may even be able to provide a small amount of funding or a guest speaker to kick things off or run a special event. Find out how to make it happen with our Electrification Guides. If you want access to our branding kits, get in touch.
What will the community groups be doing?
Every household is different, as is every community, but there are three main areas of focus:
1) Support communities to electrify
2) Create smart energy users
3) Advocate for community assets and political action
We want our community groups to find out what is most needed by their residents and then find a way to provide it. Some of the things groups are doing include:
- Community surveys and resources
- Induction cooking demonstrations
- Speaker events, educational workshops and information sessions
- Electric vehicle test drives and open days
- In-home advisory services or business partnerships with installers
- Working with councils for infrastructure such as solar on community buildings and EV charging
- Working with councils to incentivise electrification in new buildings or help them create information campaigns for residents
- Bulk buys of solar panels and heat pumps
- Electrification expos and trade shows
- Engagement with local media (including regular columns)
In Australia, the world-leading Electrify 2515 has just been announced and one postcode will become a shining example of our electric future. This project was led by the community, and will benefit the community in many ways. We'd love to see something like this in New Zealand. So who's going to lead the charge?
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Support us
Your donations help our team keep the momentum of rapidly electrifying Aotearoa New Zealand within our key focus areas of community, government and industry.
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