'This car can...' Check out our new campaign
Transpower tries to give New Zealanders a lightbulb moment with its explainer campaign (and a documentary series goes back to the start); celebrity chef Tom Shepherd cooks up some big cost savings with a more efficient commercial kitchen; Mike Taylor from Pie Funds lays out an electric argument that would help fix our balance of trade; Vessev gets some competition in Auckland with the arrival of the Candela P-12 electric hydrofoiling ferry (which Meridian has ordered for Manapouri); and a review of Australia's fastest home EV charger and its bi-directional-enabled capability.
The energy sector can get pretty confusing at times, and that’s why we love a good explainer here at Rewiring Aotearoa. It’s crucial to lay everything out in simple terms using analaogies and data visualisations that can put things in context. In that spirit, Transpower has just released a series of videos with an animated light bulb that do a good job of showing how electricity is made, how it’s transported and what the future looks like.
If you’re looking for a more detailed look at the history of electricity in New Zealand, Rewiring’s very own Steve Batstone hosted a brilliant four part series a few years back that is well worth a watch.
As the site says: “Over the last 130 years, New Zealand has led the world in the development of electricity. ‘Powering NZ’ tells the story of the remarkable innovators and entrepreneurs who made this happen.”
We're seeing sparks of that innovation again. And we're here for it.
Cooking up cost reductions
Gas in commercial kitchens is often seen as a necessary evil by chefs. It’s hot, noxious, dirty and in some kitchens we’ve heard the burners are often left on constantly, so it’s also pretty wasteful. There are more electric products coming out that are designed for these commercial hospitality environments and, as this video with Michelin starred chef Tom Shepherd shows, they are often an upgrade on the previous kit, can reduce bills and emissions, and make things more pleasant for everyone.
As he says, the restaurant is saving 500 pounds a month with its more efficient kitchen, but the slimline kit also looks great and suits their style of cooking.
For those at home who may need to upgrade the switchboard to get induction running, batteries in stoves that store energy to be used when you're cooking could be an answer.
A fine balance
Norway is set to become the first country to fully transition away from petrol and diesel vehicles and it is a brilliant case study of the way good policies can drive behaviour change. As Mike Taylor from Pie Funds said recently on Linkedin, New Zealand would be wise to try and replicate it - not just for the environmental benefits, but to fix our trade balance.
This is something we’ve argued for loudly (and we’ve done the numbers in our Investing in Tomorrow paper, showing a rapid rollout could save us $29 million a day by 2040!).
As he wrote: “We import a lot of oil. However, most of our energy [electricity] here is renewable. Therefore, if we were more like Norway (they have mandated all new car sales to be zero emission (EVs) by 2025) then over time, we could improve our balance of payments. How? Importing less oil and having a fleet of electric vehicles using Energy that WE HAVE PRODUCED. Relax.... you can buy electric utes now and if you want an ICE you can still buy one from the existing fleet. And while we are at it, why not mandate for all new homes to have solar panels installed.”
He’s a man after our own hearts. And, as someone in the finance sector, he understands that more electric machines running on locally-generated electricity is an opportunity to invest, not a cost.
Swede as
Vessev’s electric hydrofoiling VS-9 has been getting plenty of attention in the Waitematā Harbour recently, but there’s a new kid on the block after Swedish electric boat maker Candela brought one of its P-12s to the city for the Auckland Boat Show.
CEO Gustav Hasselskog spoke to Stuff about the success in Stockholm, the plans to expand around the world and the one order in New Zealand for Meridian, which will use it to transport workers and visitors to the Manapouri power station.
“There is so much potential. The ferry traffic of the world is very dirty. It's very costly. There are so many cities where the waters are just underutilised, and you have a lot of cities where congestion is massive.”
He argued that smaller, faster ferries could outperform large, infrequent ones.
… With a total of about 1.5 million boats across the country, Maritime NZ figures suggested that New Zealand had roughly one boat for every 3.5 people– the highest ratio in the world. “So, of course, we should be in New Zealand as well,” Hasselskog said.
For those looking for their own boat, we haven't seen many better (or expensive) than the Candela/Polestar collab.
Asking for directions
We’re pretty excited about the potential for EVs to become more useful and pump energy from their big batteries back into the grid. Over on the SolarQuotes site in Australia, they have recently looked at what they believe is the fastest home EV charger in Australia from Sigenergy. It’s also ready for the bi-directional future, which looks set to arrive in Australia soon and will hopefully be followed closely by New Zealand.
Some self-inflicted corporate welfare as two big companies put solar on their roof; the trends are revealing and EVs are on the ascendancy right now as people worry about fuel prices and availability; new report shows potential for businesses to save 64% on operational costs by electrifying the fleet, while Ikea shows how to do it in Australia; the Lightship offers a smooth, powerful road trip; when you buy a petrol car you're basically taking out a $20,000 petrol loan; and Robbie Nichol attempts to explain the strange world of New Zealand's electricity market.
Read moreDownloadThere are a lot more New Zealanders looking for EVs right now as concerns about the price and availability of fuel rises. But many of them are new to the scene. Here are some things to consider to ensure you get the right EV for your needs.
Read moreDownloadThere’s a lot of talk about what electric vehicles can’t do and plenty of myths and misperceptions that might stop people from upgrading. But the people who actually own EVs? They’re overwhelmingly sold and recent research showed that 96% of EV owners would buy another one. That's why we're launching 'This Car Can...' We want to tap into that electric enthusiasm and convince more New Zealanders who may be on the fence to start running on cheap local electrons rather than on expensive imported foreign molecules.
EV owners love all the things their cars can do - and they can do a lot of different things these days. So we're asking them to share a story about their EV experience, upload a photo and tell us what their car can do, or send in a video.
We'll add them to the campaign page and we'll use the best ones on socials and in our advocacy to show how lots of different New Zealanders are benefitting from EVs in their lives.
We've also compiled a whole heap of information on why we love EVs - from the savings to the speed off the mark and everything inbetween.
Get in behind!