Our mission is to electrify millions of fossil fuel machines by 2030.

It's good for the planet, and good for your wallet.

Communities

Rewiring Aotearoa is building electrification knowledge and capability within our whānau, communities and small businesses.

We support community led action in the electrification transition. Ensuring everyone has opportunity to benefit from saving thousands of dollars every year on bills, while lowering emissions and improving resilience.

The future of our communities can be bright as we transition from spending millions on fossil fuels every year to spending that money locally and powering our lives entirely from New Zealand made electricity.

Government

The current policies and regulations surrounding our energy system were built for a fossil fuel world. The only way to practically achieve zero emissions is to understand the fossil fuel machines in the economy.

There is tremendous potential to implement policy that is a win-win-win for the economy, the environment, and our resilience. We work to make sure decarbonisation decisions and policies keep cost of living and consumers at the forefront.

We engage directly with all levels of government, members of parliament, industry and regulatory bodies to advocate and enable action to support community electrification.

Industry

The only way to practically achieve zero emissions is to understand the millions of fossil fuel machines that power our households and businesses.

Rewiring Aotearoa works on world-leading research that delves deeper into decarbonisation decision making to facilitate rapid impact across all sectors.

We help businesses and industry understand how they can help facilitate the energy transition at scale, and we work together to develop world-leading projects.

Team

Mike Casey
CEO
Mike is a successful entrepreneur. Since selling his startup in 2019 he has built New Zealand's first zero fossil fuel electric cherry farm. Mike's passion for showing people how we can farm without emissions and save money on operating costs has inspired many, and he aims to continue that progress by leading Rewiring Aotearoa's mission to create a fair and fruitful pathway for all kiwi's to zero emissions.


Kat Lintott
Storytelling & Operations
Kat (Ngāi Tahu) is a co-founder of Wrestler Agency. She works at the crossover between business, storytelling and technology to empower humans to make better decisions about the future. She has produced content across all mediums from documentaries to web series to virtual reality. She is on the board of Science for Technological Innovation and also part of the Edmund Hillary Fellowship.
Josh Ellison
Research & Development
Josh leads research, design and development work at Rewiring Aotearoa and Rewiring Australia. He has multi-disciplinary experience and has co-authored Rewiring Australia’s research papers and models since its establishment. With NZ roots he now lives in Queenstown and is the bridge between Rewiring Australia and Rewiring Aotearoa.



Mike Rewi
Community Engagement
Mike (Kai Tahu / Kāti Māmoe / Ngāti Kahungungu) is the CEO of Mana Tāhuna Charitable Trust, a kaupapa Māori organisation committed to positive social, cultural and environmental development for our community. He leads community engagement strategy with a focus on delivering lower cost of living and more energy resilience to communities in need.

Advisors

Dr. Saul Griffith
Chief Scientist
Saul Griffith is an engineer and inventor. He has founded multiple successful technology companies and independent research lab Otherlab. He’s been a principal investigator on federally-funded research projects for agencies including NASA, DARPA, Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy (ARPA-e), National Science Foundation and SOCOM. He was awarded the MacArthur “Genius Grant” in 2007 for inventions in the service of humanity. He completed his PhD at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2004.
Dr. Steve Batstone
NZ Energy System Expert
Stephen Batstone completed a PhD in Operations Research at Canterbury University. He has held a variety of senior energy-related roles across regulatory, transmission, risk, investment and commercial functions, as well as being the inaugural CEO of the National Energy Research Institute.  In 2011 he co-founded Whiteboard Energy as a specialist energy-sector training organisation in 2011.  As well as Whiteboard, he now consults to the energy industry across a variety of topics including market design, decarbonisation, energy system modelling, new technologies and risk management.  Between 2019 and 2021 Stephen led infrastructure strategy and COVID recovery roles at Queenstown Lakes District Council.
Michelle Pawson
Policy Advisor
Michelle leads policy work including, climate change, environment, strategy, and anticipatory governance.She has contributed to numerous projects and legislative reforms, including Principal Policy Advisor, Productivity Commission, Principal Advisor Office of the Chief Executive, Ministry for the Environment, and to contributed to NZ’s Climate Change Adaptation Technical Working Group. Michelle’s climate change interest is centred around socio-ecological resilience and rethinking the public purpose of our legislative systems to co-create a more inclusive and equitable future.
Dr. David Hall
Climate Policy at Toha
Dr. David Hall has a DPhil in Politics from the University of Oxford and currently is Climate Policy Director at Toha and Adjunct Lecturer at AUT University's School of Social Sciences & Public Policy. He is also Principal Investigator for AUT’s Living Laboratories Programme, member of the Forestry Ministerial Advisory Group, Director of the Environmental Defence Society, and Honorary Fellow of the Hanken Centre for Accounting, Finance and Governance.
Holly Bennett
Kaitūhono Ariki at Awhi.
Holly Bennett (Te Arawa, Ngāti Whakaue, Ngāti Pikiao) is the Founder and Kaitūhono Ariki (Principal Consultant) of kaupapa Māori government relations firm Awhi based in Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland). A law graduate of the University of Auckland and admitted to the bar in 2013, Holly founded Awhi after four years working in the Beehive, focused on ensuring the government relations industry is accessible to all. In 2022 she was named Young Business Person of the Year at the Newmarket Business Awards, and won the People and Capability Category at the MWDI Māori Business Women Awards. She is also the Founder of New Zealand’s first government relations education and training organisation, Engage.
Mike Casey
CEO, Rewiring Aotearoa

Mike grew up in Wellington before having a successful career as at tech entrepreneur in Sydney. Since selling his startup in 2019, he moved home to New Zealand where he established a fully electric / zero fossil fuel cherry orchard which he believes is a world first. Forest Lodge has become a real-world example for thousands of New Zealanders on how to electrify their farms, businesses and homes.

What they have learnt and the data collected is now used to illustrate how electrification is the clear path forward, good for the wallet and for the planet. Mike's traction in electrification in New Zealand got the attention of the founding team of Rewiring Aotearoa. Forest Lodge is at the point where it is able to be managed by Mike's life long friend Euan White, and Mike is excited to jump into this new opportunity and multiply the momentum he has built through his farm.

News

Aug 09, 2023, Rewiring Aotearoa.

Press Release | Exciting News for Kiwis: A Clear Vision to Electrify for a Sustainable and Abundant Future!

“Having successfully electrified 20 machines on my cherry farm, saving thousands on energy bills and saving about 60 tonnes of emissions annually, I believe that pivotal decisions for our emissions reduction will be made around the dinner table. The best part, we can save money on our energy bills in homes, businesses, and on farms, " says Mike Casey, CEO Rewiring Aotearoa. 
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Aug 04, 2023, Rewiring Aotearoa.

Electrification lowers cost of living and emissions, strengthens resilience.

New Zealanders can save thousands on energy bills every year with electrification. Permanently lowering cost of living while rapidly reducing emissions.
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Jul 29, 2023, NZ Herald.

Cromwell orchard launches New Zealand’s first driver-optional, fully electric tractor

“We had farmers, we had environmentalists and everyone was standing shoulder to shoulder talking about why electrification is so important, so that was pretty cool. “I think electrification is the only thing that truly aligns people no matter what their beliefs are,” Casey said.
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Jul 01, 2023, When The Facts Change with Bernard Hickey.

Bernard Hickey - Saul Griffith Interview

A groundbreaking transformation is underway in the United States, as they embark on an industrial revolution that aims to replace a staggering one billion fossil-fueled machines with clean, electric alternatives fueled by the forces of nature—wind, sun, and water.
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Jan 01, 2023, Submission to fair chance for all enquiry.

Fair Chance for All enquiry | Rewiring Inequity

Strategic anti-inflationary investment targeted at households to improve the lives of the most vulnerable in society can help us accelerate the transition to a sustainable, low-emissions economy, helping to create a fair chance for all. It can create jobs while directly growing the industries, skills, and broad social understanding we need for the future.
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Dec 13, 2022, The Project NZ.

The Project NZ - Saul Griffith

"We you electrify everything you also have to use a diverse set of sources of your electricity, and the majority of that's gonna be solar and wind. In New Zealand you've got a huge amount of hydro that you can use as a battery to store it all. If you had to choose the country in the world that had the easiest pathway to zero emissions - except for it's sheep - you would choose New Zealand."
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Nov 07, 2022, RNZ.

Electric machines will solve our climate woes - engineer

“That's how much better electrified machinery is than fossil fuels. And given that we've had 50 years trying to change people's behaviour with ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’, we can now look back and say. Well, that didn't work very well. “I think we need a new approach. And I think the new approach is, we can do this, we can do it quickly, we can do it without compromising your life in huge ways. In fact, it's probably gonna make it better. And we do that through electrification.” New Zealand has “probably the easiest run at getting to zero emissions of any country in the world because of its hydro,” Griffith says.
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