News & Updates

Yesterday I spoke to Rewiring Aotearoa CEO Mike Casey and Octopus Energy NZ Chief Operating Officer Margaret Cooney about the current state of our electricity market and what could be done to fix it. Casey talked about how he earned extra money by exporting power into the grid at sky-high prices from the solar panels and batteries he installed to fully electrify his cherry orchard in Cromwell. Cooney talked about how Octopus Energy UK pays customers to reduce demand and uses automation to match supply and demand. She also talks about a way to make the market more competitive and viable for independent retailers buying from the wholesale market.

A comprehensive new research report released by EECA (the Energy Efficiency & Conservation Authority) unpacks where Kiwi homeowners are at with household electrification, identifying the opportunity when it comes to energy use, emissions, and running costs. The research finds over a third of key appliances (36%) in use – for cooking, heating spaces, and heating water – are over a decade old. The average for vehicles (including EVs) is even older at 14.9 years. Among those surveyed, ‘end of life’ of the current appliance was by far the main reason consumers will invest in new, with 75% of people saying this was a key motivator for them.

For a country that trades on its green brand and reputation as a trustworthy international counterpart, there is no realistic alternative but to follow through on our climate commitments. Failure to do so would have serious financial risks ... The size of this country’s NDC liability in future years will depend on how much action is taken domestically. Every extra tonne that we can reduce at a reasonable cost is one that we will not need to purchase offshore. All of this helps make the case for investment in ambitious initiatives such as accelerated electrification proposed by Rewiring Aotearoa and Recloaking Papatūānuku.

Andy broadcasted his show today LIVE from the World's First 100% Electric, Zero Fossil Fuel Orchard, with all the broadcast equipment powered by Monarch Tractor, the world's first fully electric tractor. Mike Casey, the man behind Forest Lodge Orchard, spoke about the reality of running such an enterprise and how others can follow suit.

Bucking a common misconception, New Zealanders no longer say recycling is the most effective action they can take to reduce climate pollution ... A recent study from Rewiring Aotearoa, which didn’t attempt to measure consumer sentiment towards climate-friendly actions but did examine the benefits from electrifying homes, found New Zealanders can now save between $1400 and $4700 a year by fully decarbonising their households. This makes New Zealand one of the first countries in the world to reach a “tipping point” where electrifying households is now cheaper than relying on fossil fuels. “If we use more affordable, locally produced electricity – both from our highly renewable grid and through more customer generation – to run our much more efficient electric machines, households and businesses will save money, our energy system will be stronger and more resistant to shocks, the country’s balance of payments will be billions better off because we won’t need to import as many expensive fossil fuels, and our carbon emissions will shrink,” the report found.

Electrifying your household appliances - which in most cases means ditching a gas cooktop, gas heating and hot water - can save the average household more than $1000 per year, according to data modelling recently commissioned by the Energy Efficiency Conservation Authority [and Rewiring Aotearoa]. The study also found annual running cost and lifetime-cost gains from solar and swapping out a petrol or diesel vehicle for an EV - at least if you use cheaper charging at home rather than pricey public chargers, even allowing for impending road user chargers.

Mike Casey likes to call himself an “electric cherry orchardist from New Zealand"... Casey argues that rooftop solar was the gateway that enabled him to electrify his entire orchard. “It’s so significantly cheaper than a litre of diesel that it would just make absolutely no sense to buy another diesel machine once you are taking advantage of your rooftop solar.”

In the next year alone, over half a million purchase decisions will be made by New Zealanders on household appliances and vehicles, and this pattern is expected to continue. To help New Zealanders make informed decisions when they are in the market, EECA has unpacked the yearly lifetime saving opportunities - across energy, emissions and household bills, that can be achieved through choosing the most efficient, electric options. As a snapshot of running costs alone - New Zealanders could save around $1,000+ per year in energy costs. When upfront costs are included, this could save $10,000-$20,000 over a 15-year appliance lifetime. Every household is different, but the data says that for most - it pays to go electric.

Every Sunday night I sit down with my family – and about half a million other New Zealanders – to watch Country Calendar. It’s a love letter to the land and an ode to innovation and I’m always inspired by the resourceful rural folk coming up with clever ways to keep the coffers full. That is becoming increasingly difficult, however. Farmers are battling economic headwinds, global competition, synthetic substitutes and expensive – some might argue excessive – compliance, so anything that can save or make them money is about as rare as a hen’s tooth. But there is something that could potentially achieve both of those things: electricity ... The No 8 wire mentality is part of our national mythology. Early generations of farmers had to learn to be self-sufficient and make the most of the resources they had around them. What farmers have around them now is plenty of land, lots of sun and increasing demand for renewable electricity. Using and creating more electricity on NZ’s farms is in everyone’s economic and environmental interests, so let’s take a leaf out of Bill Gallagher’s book and make that No 8 wire electric.

This Government promised relief from the rising cost of living. If it looked at the electricity sector, it might see some solutions staring them right in the face.

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.

Forest Lodge Orchard has taken out the Norwood Farming Efficiency Award and the NZFET Innovation Award at the Otago Farm Environment Awards. "Technology and sustainability are the hallmarks of this Cromwell orchard that has grown its harvest exponentially since being developed from bare ground in 2019 ... Right from the start, owners ​​Mike and Rebecca Casey, and Euan and Rachel White have been striving to electrify all orchard methods and equipment – a goal they have achieved. They have an electric tractor, have electrified the orchard’s irrigation pump, i​nstalled New Zealand’s first electric frost–fighting fans and are developing ​​​an electric​ foliage​ sprayer​.​ In 2022, they set themselves a challenge of going completely fossil-fuel-free in the orchard. This will potentially save about​ $50k per year in energy bills ​and continues to drive greater creativity in finding or developing alternative approaches."

New Zealand is at the 'electrification tipping point', according to a new report from non-profit Rewiring Aotearoa ... CEO Mike Casey knows all about the environmental impact and economic benefit to decarbonising. Mike talks to Jesse about the [Electric Homes] report and his own journey of 'electrification' at his Cromwell property.

The evidence is clear: it's good for our pockets and for the planet, so what's stopping families and businesses from going electric? How do we address the electrification knowledge gap and other barriers that stand in the way of adopting cleaner, more affordable energy both as individuals and organisations? Bernard Hickey talks to Rewiring Aotearoa CEO Mike Casey about their recent report 'Electric Homes', and how NZ is one of the first countries to reach the "electrification tipping point".

Mike Casey is the CEO of Rewiring Aoteraoa, part of an international movement to accelerate the shift to a renewable, electric-powered economy. Rewiring’s first report is all about the electric home - think rooftop solar, heat pumps, EVs and so on. But Mike is also a horticulturist and a passionate advocate for decarbonising the primary sector. He has the unique ability to win over both farmers and greenies, and politicians just love being seen in front of the electric tractor at his Forest Lodge Orchard - believed to be the world’s-first, electrified, zero-fossil fuel cherry orchard. Mike spoke to Vincent.

"We save such a significant amount of money in energy. It works out to be a 16% increase to profit margin on our farm by using to go electroc rather than use fossil fuels in our machinery and our household. That's led me to focus on how we electrify New Zealand as fast as we can because the savings really do stack up. When we're talking about energy equity and energy hardship and the ened to go through this inevtiable energy transition, that's something I've become super passionate about."

Power prices are rising, and not just because of inflation. But it’s hard to work out how to save money, if you can’t understand your bill. ... The Detail speaks to Josh Ellison, the research and development lead for Rewiring Aotearoa – a non-profit charity working to help New Zealand transition to a low-cost electrified economy. The group has recently released a report into how New Zealand homes can become more electric – and this doesn’t have to mean higher electricity prices. The key, Ellison says, is to use a mix of power from the grid with solar and and home battery (storing cheaper energy such as solar for use when that energy’s not available or more expensive). This option is becoming more attractive as prices for panels and batteries come down, but the group would like to see easier access to finance to install solar.

New Zealand is one of the first countries in the world to reach an electrification tipping point, as prices of $3a litre for petrol and high gas costs makes electric homes more affordable than fossil fuelled alternatives. The Electric Homes report, from the charity Rewiring Aotearoa, shows that a combination of EVs and electric appliances are cheaper over the lifetime of the machines, even with higher upfront costs or a 5.5 per cent interest rate for finance.

"An EV could still be cheaper to run after road user charges are introduced on April 1, a new study says. But it will depend on where you charge." (Paywall)

From an electric tractor and electric chainsaws to irrigation and frost fighting systems powered by renewable energy, Rewiring Aotearoa CEO Mike Casey's made huge savings by turning his cherry orchard electric. He's encouraging Kiwis to do the same with their homes. "It is now cheaper to run an electric home than it is a fossil fuel home, even considering the cost of capital, which is a really exciting situation to be in," Casey said. The [Electric Homes] report showed household electrification could save New Zealanders money and reduce emissions.