News & Updates
No-one likes a skite, but everyone loves perovskite, including some awesome New Zealand researchers trying to improve the efficiency of solar; why put panels on the roof when you could have panels as walls; electric trucks are increasingly stacking up when it comes to lifetime costs; an induction hob that can 'cook on yesterday's sunshine' gets the tick of approval from appliance giant Miele; CATL's new 15-year battery; and how to fight energy disinformation by talking to lots of disparate groups.
National has announced what it’s calling ‘Electrify NZ 2.0’, a nine point plan to provide affordable power. And while it has a lot of stuff Rewiring has been asking for for a few years, there are a couple of big bits missing, says CEO Mike Casey.
National's nine-point energy plan will tackle the costs pushing up power bills and build a more secure energy future for New Zealand, National's Energy spokesperson Simeon Brown says.
Rohan O'Neill-Stevens, a Green Party candidate for Nelson and ex-deputy mayor, is among the one third of New Zealanders living in a rental. As he explains in the next instalment of Political Power, that limits the power he has over the machines in his life, but he's doing pretty well on that front and there are ways that could be improved, like Solar for Renters or plug-in solar.
Drive Electric and Rewiring Aotearoa are asking parties that may form the next government to commit to assessing a New Zealand pre-tax EV leasing pathway within the first 100 days, with the fiscal and tax settings tested before any scheme is adopted.
"I'm an electrify everything kind of guy!" Blair Cameron, National's candidate for Nelson, is the next cab off the rank for our Political Power series and he's ticked off almost all of the electric boxes in his life.
When Gunnar Friese visited his parents in Germany about a year and a half ago, he saw a lot of plug-in solar systems, but when he returned to New Zealand, he found they were illegal here. Since then he has been on a mission to introduce the technology and, with many political parties now on board and the Ministry of Regulation proposing it be legalised, it looks like it's about to take off.
The LNG can has been kicked down the road, now it's time to stick it in the bin for good; EECA releases its first report on the two-way charging trial in Queenstown; the IEA releases its first electrification-focused report and says we're well and truly in the 'Age of Electricity'; two of our favourite energy nerds explain the primary energy fallacy; old EVs are more likely to pass tests than old petrol cars; who needs roads when you've got boats that work like planes?; and a spurious link between penguins and electrification.
Smart Energy Alliance spokesperson Andrew Eagles told Ryan Bridge the process for the LNG import terminal has been rushed up to this point. Eagles says it would cost New Zealanders up to $2.7 billion over 15 years, and so it's right we slow down and consider this fully.
Part of Queenstown is being turned into a testing ground for ideas that could one day help cut your power bill. A new energy sandbox is being scoped to test ideas like energy sharing, plug-in solar and solar for renters in a controlled area, before any wider rule changes. Rewiring Aotearoa's Josh Ellison spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.
As electrification blossoms and homes save money by getting off gas, we need to prepare for more electricity use. That doesn't necessarily mean more expensive upgrades to poles and wires paid for by customers on their bills. It could also be lines companies innovating and ensuring that they make the most of new technology like solar, batteries and two-way charging that can provide generation and reduce the pressure at peak times.
Now there's a story we'll be cutting out and putting on the fridge! As The Post reports, misgivings from Act and NZ First about the proposed LNG import terminal mean a contract won't be signed before the election.
EECA has published the first report from its two-way EV charging trial in Queenstown, which is being conducted in partnership with Rewiring Aotearoa, Retyna and McKay.
We're diggin' it.
"It's just a blip." "Things will calm down soon." "The best way to make cheap electricity is with expensive, imported gas." Don't listen to this guy. Ditch LNG. Support New Zealand-made energy. Learn more at www.rewiring.nz/lng ⚡
Political Power has gone local! Dr Nick Smith, mayor of Nelson and ex-National Party minister, is an early adopter when it comes to electric machines but, through his efforts with the council and his close involvement with the Ratepayer Assistance Scheme, he's also embracing one of Rewiring's core mantras: once you've electrified your own life, electrify someone else's life, too.
Welcome back to LNG FM, where your host Old Man Gas tries his best to justify the 'big, beautiful, multi-billion dollar import terminal'.As our campaign suggests, you really shouldn't listen to this guy! Let's ditch LNG and back New Zealand-made energy.
Whether it's the growing number of electric buses, new electric trains for the lower North Island and City Rail Link, or new electric ferries, we love seeing more electric transport options in our big cities. It's also good to see some of our smaller cities like Palmerston North, Timaru and Nelson going electric and, as is almost always the case, the drivers reckon it's better on electrons. At the Electrify Nelson expo, we spoke with one driver Lee about the city's electric buses. And he definitely wouldn't go back to diesel.
Labour's Jo Luxton, a list MP contesting the East Cape electorate, is next up on our Political Power series, and she's a fair way down the electric path.
Old Man Gas will be featuring in a few newspapers and billboards this week discussing the proposed LNG import terminal. Not surprisingly, he has his justifications, but they don't stack up. It is a multi-billion dollar tax on Kiwis that many experts and sector players think is unnecessary.
Rewiring Aotearoa supports the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority’s (EECA) levy funding proposal for 2026/27, as we see significant benefits for electricity consumers and New Zealand’s productivity from EECA’s workstreams. This is evidenced through EECA’s performance where it has met or exceeded targeted measures, which include cost and energy savings, efficiency investment and other metrics that demonstrate the value EECA’s programmes provide.
Rewiring generally supports the improvements proposed in the Bill, and seek that the scope of these improvements be expanded to include the legislative changes required to enable the Ratepayer Assistance RAS due to the significant infrastructure and cost of living improvements this innovative financing RAS unlocks.
We believe the Multiple Trading Relationships proposal will benefit consumers by providing customers with more choice over how they buy and receive fair payment for exported solar.
Rewiring Aotearoa is very supportive of the Electricity Authority’s introduction of requirements for distributors to provide payments for exports at peak based on the avoided long run marginal cost of peak demand. This will fairly support consumers to invest in batteries and encourage people to supply surplus energy to the network when it is needed, benefiting all customers through lower electricity costs that we all pay through our power bills. To unlock the full extent of these benefits it is important that the intended group of customers have access to these payments. This intended group is the small businesses who do not have the bargaining power to negotiate fair benefits. It excludes large customers who are already more likely to be rewarded for the benefits their injection (exports) provides. Unfortunately the preferred proposal the Electricity Authority (the Authority) has set out in this consultation will not achieve this, and will reduce benefits to customers and does not align with the Authority's statutory objectives.
We strongly support the Electricity Authority’s aim of removing unnecessary barriers to more efficient investment in distributed generation and maximise the benefits it brings for all New Zealanders. It is great to see the progress the EA is making in its Networks connection workstreams which will translate in real benefits for consumers. We agree with the Electricity Authority's description of benefits from distributed generation and support the proposals set out in this consultation although propose some additional measures and modifications.
Solar and batteries - in homes and EVs - offer signicant resilience benefits during times of crisis and the Ratepayer Assistance Scheme can help unlock private investment.
Electrification is the single biggest opportunity to improve fuel security in New Zealand and that's why we think we need a bold national energy independence plan, not just more incremental changes to our current fuel security plan.
Unmanaged EV charging that occurs at network and system peaks could add unnecessary electricity infrastructure investment, increasing bills for all customers. Investment in our networks is scaled to meet peak demands and has the potential to significantly increase electricity bills over the coming decades. It is important we take action to shift demand, where it makes sense, to avoid peak demand increases. Rewiring Aotearoa is very supportive of the efforts the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment is taking to consider options to deliver a more flexible electricity system that will lower system costs for all consumers. Uptake of smart EV chargers is one way to manage peak EV demand and support a lower system cost. However we do not think there is a strong enough case to mandate that all fixed EV charging units sold in New Zealand must be smart.
Rewiring Aotearoa supports the proposed changes to Multiple Trading Relationships (MTR) (allowing two traders – distributed generation and consumption), which will increase consumer choice and introduce more competition to retail tariffs. For example, it will disincentivise tariffs that offer competitive export tariffs, but also ramp up consumption tariffs. The Electricity Authority should also implement changes at this time that require retailers to allow large sites to share solar across multiple co-located installation control points (ICPs, i.e. ICP aggregation), and facilitate peer to peer trading for small scale renewable generators with local sites. Rewiring Aotearoa disagrees that delaying these steps via a staged approach is in consumers best interest. Consumers should not have to wait until demand increases to unlock the benefits of their solar and battery systems or access more competitive options from retailers. This should be supported now, to help consumers make investment and retail tariff decisions that reduce their overall energy bills.
We appreciate that broader resource management reform is underway that will ultimately provide a more consistent national framework. However, we cannot afford to wait for the perfect system while workable solutions are delayed. In the meantime, inconsistent and unnecessary consenting requirements for small-scale ground-mounted solar are slowing down projects that could deliver immediate benefits - lowering energy costs, strengthening resilience, and supporting the grid. While long-term reform is important, immediate adjustments will ensure small-scale solar isn’t held back by outdated or inconsistent rules.
"Investing in natural gas in homes doesn’t make economic sense anymore for New Zealanders ... Rewiring Aotearoa’s view is that the Government should support a managed transition away from natural gas for the homes and non-industrial businesses connected to reticulated natural gas distribution networks. This would help address inequity for households on low incomes and renters, and provide greater certainty over how quickly customers will disconnect, when networks would likely retire and cost recovery timelines."
Rewiring Aotearoa's submission highlights that successful digitalisation should allow customers to maximise benefits from their provision of demand flexibility and solar and battery exports, without third parties (aggregators or VPPs) routinely taking a cut of the value. Retail offerings that include time of use prices and fair export tariffs will be key enablers of successful digitalisation of the electricity system. Customers need a fair deal through their electricity prices and export tariffs. This means the customers need to have the option to choose from a range of retail tariffs that include time of use prices, fair export tariffs (that reflect the value in the wholesale market) and symmetrical export tariffs from distributors.
Rewiring Aotearoa is extremely supportive of the focus the Electricity Authority is putting into exploring opportunities and seeking views on a more ‘decentralised’ electricity system. It’s great to see the release of the Green Paper seeking views from New Zealanders on the role they can play in the future electricity system and how a more decentralised electricity system should evolve. As the Green Paper explains New Zealanders will benefit from a more decentralised, community-centric energy system through lower energy bills, greater energy resilience, fuel security and lower emissions. However there are some assumptions and emphasis in the Green Paper that we think needs to change
Rewiring Aotearoa is supportive of the Innovation and non-traditional solutions allowance (INTSA) and the development of Guidance for submissions. Read our full submission by downloading the document.
While the potential implications of the Bill are wide-ranging, our submission has focused on the potential implications for the electrification of Aotearoa NZ if the Bill is enacted as proposed. This is pertinent to Rewiring’s work, because one of our core aims is to help reduce energy bills for customers - NZ’s households, farms, and businesses. Significant changes are needed to fix the status quo, and we are concerned that the Bill may inadvertently bake in the existing rules governing the sector.
Rewiring Aotearoa is supportive of the development of Publicly Available Specification for Residential solar photovoltaic (PV) and battery storage systems guidelines. These guidelines can provide a consolidated and trusted source of information to help households navigate the process of choosing and installing solar PV and batteries. There is some messaging and information in the PAS that we think needs to be changed or added to provide households with the best advice to support them to maximise benefits from solar PV and batteries. This includes removing the focus on pay back periods and informing households about cost savings from day one from solar PV and batteries financed over the life of the system. Households also need information about the potential risks of some existing lease to own sales models which provide little real benefit to households with the bulk of the savings captured in suppliers profits. Download the document to read our full submission.
In a cross-submission, Rewiring Aotearoa has responded to a range of concerns raised by other submitters in the Energy Competition Task Force's consulation.
We support the role that government procurement can play in benefitting every community across the motu. We agree that simplifying and streamlining the procurement process is important, and reducing rules is a logical starting point. However, this should not undermine key considerations and past efforts in ensuring government spending supports long-term positive outcomes. Government procurement can support us to go for growth by increasing productivity of energy, which is a fundamental economic input
Overall, Rewiring Aotearoa welcomes the objectives of this package of proposals. from the Energy Competition Task Force. We view the package as a critical step in improving energy system outcomes for all consumers. We consider retailers paying consumers fairly as a critical step, and we are mostly satisfied with the Task Force’s approach to this (initiative 2C) and think it will create better outcomes for New Zealand consumers and the energy system as a whole. In contrast, the Task Force’s preferred option around how distributors are required to reward peak input from consumers (initiative 2A) will not in our view meet the Task Force’s (or the Electricity Authority’s) stated objectives.
Focusing on the emissions reductions at home through electrification is a major opportunity (and challenge) for Aotearoa NZ. Homes, farms, and businesses must play a role in driving emissions reductions through electrification and the potential must be recognised and addressed to our 2035 international climate change target.
Rewiring Aotearoa believes we need to make better use of our existing infrastrucuture, see customers as an essential part of a 21st Century energy system and that electrification will lead to much greater energy security and resilience.
Rewiring Aotearoa's submission to the Electricity Authority on its Network Connections Project - Stage One is in and it is good to see the Authority practicing its statutory objective of protecting the interests of consumers.
The Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment opened consultation on a discussion document about amendments to the Electricity Safety Regulations to expand the permitted voltage range for electricity supply. Rewiring Aotearoa's submission believes changes are needed to prepare for the rapid adoption of customer energy resources, and electricity distribution companies need to be compelled to allow export limits to be increased.
The Department for Prime Minister and Cabinet and the Ministry for the Environment proposed a topic for a Long Term Insights Briefing entitled 'Everyone plays a part: building New Zealand’s resilience in the context of global trends and our unique natural environment'. Rewiring Aotearoa's submission says energy security and resilience, critical infrastructure failing and commodity/energy price shocks are especially important for Aotearoa NZ’s resilience to future challenges, and farms can also play an important role.
Our ERP2 submission outlines what we think needs to be done to improve the Government's plan to reach our climate targets, electrify the Aotearoa New Zealand economy and build a fairer future energy system for New Zealanders that saves people money and does not leave anyone behind.
There is a relevant saying: ‘Information wants to be free’. While the proposed Consumer and Data Product Bill takes a step in that direction, it does not offer the level of freedom that could be technically accomplished, nor the level of freedom that is likely to unlock the maximum level of innovation.
Rakiura / Stewart Island faces the highest electricity prices in New Zealand. Successive governments have funded report after report and numerous fly-in visits by Ministers have failed to change this situation for the local community. Rewiring Aotearoa believes the opportunity is to harness existing solar and battery technology to deliver significant cost-of-living savings and reduced emissions at scale via electrification on Stewart Island right now. With financed solar and batteries, electricity usage costs for residents could be halved without delay. Rewiring Aotearoa has been engaging with the local community, who have been sending us their power bills. On Saturday 27th April some of the Rewiring team visited Stewart Island (including Mike Rewi who has strong whakapapa to Stewart Island). What we are hearing from this community is many locals fear the proposals and the likely “preferred option” will be focused on replacing current diesel generators, not on reducing the cost of energy for consumers. Our proposal outlines Rewiring Aotearoa’s pitch for an alternative approach to develop a community-led energy solution for the Island.
Overall, we encourage the Commission to think beyond competition merely as a driver for innovation, to consider the outcomes from innovation for the long term benefit for New Zealanders. Rewiring Aotearoa believes one such outcome from market innovation is supporting the electrification opportunity for Aotearoa New Zealand. The Commission has the opportunity to play an active role in driving this not just through the energy market, but also through the personal banking market. It is important that these functions are not seen in isolation, but as a system, to better realise the Commission's role in delivering on NZ’s emissions reduction plan, and 2050 Nationally Determined Contribution.
18 March 2024: New Zealand is one of the first places in the world where electric appliances and vehicles are now more affordable than their fossil fuel equivalents. A new report has shown that, on average, homes currently using gas appliances and petrol vehicles could save thousands every year if they went electric and got their electricity from a combination of rooftop solar, home battery and New Zealand’s already highly renewable grid.
In this future, consumer infrastructure needs to compete on a level playing field with traditional infrastructure – if a $10,000 battery on a consumer’s premises can provide the same service as a $20,000 supply-side asset (a network or generation investment), the consumer’s asset should be selected for the service. However, today there is a systemic bias towards traditional infrastructure largely because it is seen as significantly more ‘dependable’. There are a variety of historical reasons for this. Our primary context to this submission is that many of the assumptions and rationale for this bias are quickly falling away, and DPP4 provides a significant opportunity for the Commerce Commission (the Commission) to reset the assumptions and correct some of this bias.
The EA has the ability to take a leadership role in the energy transition on behalf of electricity consumers. Far more than the Commerce Commission’s oversight of EDBs investment plans, the EA’s network pricing workplan gives consumers agency in the development of the electricity system. When consumer agency is stifled, they will likely have significantly worse financial outcomes on their bills. Much of the necessary changes have been demonstrated already locally or overseas, and the remaining question is not if the changes are possible but if we as a nation will have the courage to implement them on the timeline required to drive better energy transition outcomes for consumers.
New Zealand is well-endowed with natural resources that we have harnessed to run our homes, farms and businesses. We are very reliant on hydro storage for electricity and when it doesn't rain we need to rely on other sources. So what's the best way to plug that gap as we wait for more renewables resources to come online?
Solar is the fastest growing source of electricity globally. And it’s the cheapest form of electricity available to New Zealand households. But not every home is suitable for panels. Not everyone owns the home they live in. And not everyone can access the capital for a rooftop solar system. That’s why there’s also been a surge of small-scale or plug-in solar in a number of countries. So why not here in New Zealand?
The biggest barrier to unlocking the household savings that electric technology offers - as well as the many other public benefits - is the upfront cost. Long-term, low-interest energy loans are the ladder we need to get more people over that.
We need gas in the short term to generate electricity and for certain industries to keep operating, but gas is expensive, it is likely to get more expensive, and it is running out faster than expected. So how do we use it now? How are shortages and price rises impacting homes and businesses? And what can we replace it with?
We need great urban design that encourages electric public and active transport for safe neighbourhoods and healthy lifestyles, but we also need electric cars for rapid decarbonisation and to address all the vehicle travel we realistically aren’t going to shift or avoid. These two things can be complementary.
When it comes to our energy system, we could do the bare minimum and pay the price, or we could think ahead and reap the rewards. Here's what both of those options could look like in 2030.
You will always have to pay for an energy subscription. Using renewable electricity in electric machines (and ideally running on the sun) is the cheapest energy subscription you can get. Here's how the numbers stack up.
Plenty of people need cars (and plenty of people still want them), and other vehicles are literal engines of prosperity. We don't have to give them up to reach our climate goals. We just need them to be electric.
Solar on our rooftops, farms and businesses can displace the emissions generated by burning fossil fuels in our homes and especially our cars, provide the extra electricity we need to run our electric machines, help bring the cost of electricity down for everyone on the network, and improve our energy security by keeping water in our hydro lakes for when we need it most.
We often hear from people who aren’t sure if switching to an electric alternative is the right move. One of the most common questions we get asked is ‘will switching to an electric machine actually reduce my carbon footprint if creating the new machine or materials produces emissions?’It’s a fair question, and we completely agree it’s important to think about the full life cycle of the products we buy and use. Electric alternatives, including vehicles, often produce more emissions than fossil fuel equivalents during manufacturing. But, over the lifetime of the machine, they create much less carbon pollution because they don't burn any fuel.
Fossil fuels for homes, transport and industrial processes make up the vast majority of the country’s total energy consumption. Electrifying the machines that use these fossil fuels means we will use more electricity but much less energy overall.
An electrified energy system is actually full of opportunities for redesign, reuse, recovery and recycling. There are opportunities for innovators and entrepreneurs to generate value across the lifespan of every energy asset, not least the return of its components to the manufacturing cycle. To explore this further, Rewiring Aotearoa has partnered with Circularity, local experts in circular design and strategy, to explain what the circular economy is, how to integrate circularity into the design of energy systems, and the role of policy strategy to make it happen.
There are no free lunches in energy. But some lunches are far, far cheaper than others. Electrifying everything will massively reduce the overall material and energy requirements of the global energy system. This can be said with high confidence. To be sure, renewable energy systems take materials and energy to build. But this is dwarfed by the mind-boggling scale of extraction, consumption and wastefulness of fossil energy.
People sometimes talk about ‘carbon tunnel vision’ – that is, the single-minded pursuit of emission reductions at the sake of everything else. But this is the wrong way to think about electrification. It isn’t only about emissions (even though preventing the world from dangerous overheating is quite the co-benefit). It isn’t only about the tech or the kit: the rooftop solar panels, the batteries, the electrified appliances and vehicles. These are just the means to an end. Electrification is about people and it is a fundamentally better way to power our lives and livelihoods.
No-one likes a skite, but everyone loves perovskite, including some awesome New Zealand researchers trying to improve the efficiency of solar; why put panels on the roof when you could have panels as walls; electric trucks are increasingly stacking up when it comes to lifetime costs; an induction hob that can 'cook on yesterday's sunshine' gets the tick of approval from appliance giant Miele; CATL's new 15-year battery; and how to fight energy disinformation by talking to lots of disparate groups.
The LNG can has been kicked down the road, now it's time to stick it in the bin for good; EECA releases its first report on the two-way charging trial in Queenstown; the IEA releases its first electrification-focused report and says we're well and truly in the 'Age of Electricity'; two of our favourite energy nerds explain the primary energy fallacy; old EVs are more likely to pass tests than old petrol cars; who needs roads when you've got boats that work like planes?; and a spurious link between penguins and electrification.
The City Rail Link adds another electric string to the bow of Auckland, which is growing its public transport services and reducing operating costs while reducing emissions; you'd have to really hate saving money to buy a diesel van if you're a courier; Bob the Builder is back after a bit of a break to front a campaign about the need for workers to install solar, batteries and electric upgrades; another pilot in Australia aims to make it easy for Canberrans to go electric; and boating is going electric 'faster than you think'.
New Zealand has lots of renewable electricity, but still uses lots of expensive imported energy; commercial kitchens in the UK are are turning down the heat (and the toxins, and the costs, and hassle of cleaning gas hobs) by going electric; new research shows plenty of young'uns think petrol cars are akin to a landline; a solar-powered ambulance designed by Dutch students brings some 'medisun' to remote areas; 'Pic's Peanut Butter partners up with FTN Motion for a special electric motorbike; and a great website that helps us appreciate the abundance that's all around us (and the things that could be entirely normal soon).
Australia reaches a milestone in August, with more new electric cars sold than petrol cars; another new study shows EV batteries last longer than the myths have made out; Heart Aerospace sends the world's heaviest electric plane skywards; China's massive mining machine hits the dirt; and we've fully embraced heat pumps to warm the air, now they're coming for our water.
We definitely need to keep an lid on electricity prices, but the grid still provides savings and we need to focus on our fuels; geothermal could change everything in New Zealand and it's helping Iceland become a fruit and vege growing paradise; Devan Plastics looks to the sun for savings (and embraces floating panels); sparks fly as Master Electricians and BYD partner up, while electric vans and utes are now a competitive advantage for businesses; and a magnificent three-wheeled electric machine from the 1960s and an electric tractor from 1932.
Vessev keeps on flying with a $32 million funding round and more international orders; Golden Bay Fruit and Alsco look up to try and get a competitive advantage; there's a 96% approval rating among EV owners and the cops like their EVs too; Woolworths unveils a purpose-built charging hub at Penrose for its electric deliveries; Bev might take a bit of getting used to; desperate times call for clever measures in Cuba as three-wheeled solar powered scooters start collecting trash; and meet 'Electric Saul', an AI version of real Saul Griffith that offers electrification advice.
How the grid handled record electricity demand - and why this time was different; Mt Hutt heads toward an electric future (and a new electric snow groomer should be on every ski field's list); Naut and Rayglass partner up to launch a new electric boat; solar reaches a major global milestone and California sets a solar record; an 'energy positive' prototype vehicle powered by the sun; and The New York Times sees the electric transition in action on the roads of Pakistan.
Cooking with cars at Fleet Days; 'the best petrol car has already been built, but EVs keep getting better; New York looks to improve air quality and reduce noise by electrifying its 20,000 food carts; Kea Aerospace announces a new facility to build its Atmos 2 solar-powered plane; 'green steel' gets closer with Glenbrook's electric arc furnace and local start-up Cullbeck setting up alongside; the pros and cons of replacing lithium with sodium in batteries; and 'aquavoltaics' could be a thing as a massive project in China combines an offshore solar farm with a fish farm.
Ministry for Regulation review hits all the right notes while 'Seymour Solar' only just fits in the Crown limo; solar is more popular for low-income homes, which is why we're pushing for better access to finance; there was record electricity demand this week and the lights stayed on but homes will play a big role at peak time in the future; Santiago's electric bus crusade; some electric innovation captured in the forests of the Central North Island; Snow Planet looks to the sun to save money on energy; a Swiss hydro dam adds some extra generation in a unique way; and Toby knows watt's up when it comes to energy.
When Gunnar Friese visited his parents in Germany about a year and a half ago, he saw a lot of plug-in solar systems, but when he returned to New Zealand, he found they were illegal here. Since then he has been on a mission to introduce the technology and, with many political parties now on board and the Ministry of Regulation proposing it be legalised, it looks like it's about to take off.
Whether it's the growing number of electric buses, new electric trains for the lower North Island and City Rail Link, or new electric ferries, we love seeing more electric transport options in our big cities. It's also good to see some of our smaller cities like Palmerston North, Timaru and Nelson going electric and, as is almost always the case, the drivers reckon it's better on electrons. At the Electrify Nelson expo, we spoke with one driver Lee about the city's electric buses. And he definitely wouldn't go back to diesel.
Roger Robson-Williams owns 20% of New Zealand's electric tractor fleet. That sounds impressive, until you learn there are only five of them. But, like his fellow electric tractor enthusiast Mike Casey, he's on a mission to change that by providing a bit of inspiration and information.
"Free money!" "Free power!" "Bloody good!" Landlord Harry Pearson and his tenant Lenny Wills are living in a win-win world and, as they told Rewiring's Matt Newman at the Electrify Nelson expo over the weekend, it’s all down to solar.
The Vatican is aiming to be the first solar-powered 'nation' and, as solar advocate Bill McKibben likes to say, there are plenty of churches around the world generating energy from heaven rather than hell. One of them is the Discovery Christian Centre in Hamilton East, which has 48 panels on its roof.
Research overseas has shown that gardening gear can be a gateway drug for electrification. People often start small with a lawnmower or a weed eater, figure out that the tools perform better than petrol equivalents (without the fumes, noise or starting issues), and then they gain the confidence to upgrade some of the larger machines in their home. Mike Casey uses electric Stihl tools on his cherry orchard and he was like a kid in a candy shop at the Fieldays tent looking at all the new electric toys on offer. Just a couple of years ago, Stihl's product manager Phil Needham says it would have been full of petrol products, but now it's mostly batteries. There are still some petrol options for "the diehards", but it's clear where things are heading.
It's normally very difficult to fuel up when you're flying, but the aircraft developed by Christchurch company Kea Aerospace makes it look easy because it relies on the big nuclear fusion reactor in the sky.
When Mike Casey bought his house near Cromwell, it came with gas bottles on the side of the home for water and an expensive diesel system for the underfloor heating. He replaced both of them with a Steibel Eltron system and it's been saving him money ever since. As technical manager Bhawesh Singh told him at the Electrify Queenstown conference, there has been a big influx in enquiries from homes looking to get off the molecules and onto electrons.
Solar and storage on farms has been going off like a frog in a sock recently. And Federated Farmers has made it a big part of its election manifesto. While Wayne Langford recently missed out on a fourth term as president, he's a Bright Spark in our books for all the work he's done to get this issue on the political radar and help speed up adoption.
Whether you're monitoring gates in the back of beyond or powering your milking shed, solar and batteries can help farmers do the business these days and, as Morgan Brodie from Lusty & Blundell says, the products it offers go from one end of the spectrum to the other.
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