
"I firmly believe electricity is the next crop for farmers in New Zealand, and the more farmers that get involved in this, the better the returns for farmers are going to be ... My big dream is that farmers start powering New Zealand. That would be really cool." Seven Sharp ventured to Cromwell recently and Rachel Parkin put together a beautiful story about the all-electric Forest Lodge Orchard. The team has proven that it's possible to grow cherries without burning any diesel on the farm - 'not a single drop,' as manager Euan White says - and that farmers can play a role in the energy system by generating, using, storing and exporting their own electricity. At the moment, many homes, farms and businesses are reliant on expensive molecules sent to us from the other side of the world. Fossil fuels have taken us a long way, but there is a better and cheaper option: locally-produced electrons. That's good for businesses, and good for the country as a whole. Watch the show on TVNZ+ (skip to 4 mins).
Mike Casey, CEO of Rewiring and cherry orchardist from New Zealand who electrified all the machines on his farm. And he powers them with his own solar panels and batteries. Better machinery at a lower cost, he says.
Read moreDownloadMike Casey is an entrepreneur and cherry orchardist who has electrified all the machines on his farm. He is also the CEO of Rewiring Aotearoa, a charity dedicated to electrifying millions of fossil fuel machines. He spoke to Guyon Espiner.