The case for energy loans: read our latest explainer
After Mike Casey spoke to almost 100 people in Masterton about the economic and environmental benefits of electrification, long-time councillor Chris Peterson wrote an opinion piece about Rewiring Aotearoa's realistic ‘what’s in it for me’ approach to achieving results, the success of the Electrifying Queenstown event and the momentum that's now building in the region for an Electrify Wairarapa campaign. As he writes: "No matter your political persuasion, one thing that seems to unite us is saving money so it has been encouraging to see genuine collaboration — reflecting, hopefully, a realisation that we are all in this climate crisis together and that electrifying the region means there is also something in it for the community." Where next?
Read moreDownload the document here"We've lost the cops!" In our next instalment of Political Power, we managed to get David Seymour, deputy prime minister and leader of the Act Party, behind the wheel of a Zeekr 7x when he was in Queenstown recently. As is often the case when people take a new EV for a spin, there was much chortling as he gave it heaps up the Remarkables ski field road - and, if we take him at his word, we might even see him give Mike Casey's tractor heaps up Parliament steps in the future.
Read moreDownloadEVs are having a moment right now, so how can we get more people driving electric; Tom Selleck sums up how EV owners are feeling right now and staggering analysis shows the sun's prices have been unaffected by decades of geopolitical conflict; Scion goes solar to get off gas, while dairy farmers and homes go with solar and batteries to keep going; Saul Griffith takes his solar-powered scooter to Canberra and starts a fight with regulators; the Cancer Society's Lions Lodge in Hamilton gets some panels donated and will save $17,000 a year; and killing the Friday vibe with new studies on how fossil fuel companies made massive profits after the last energy crisis in 2022 and carbon emissions making our blood boil - perhaps quite literally.
Read moreDownloadAn electrification advocate says the rising price and falling supply of gas may not be a bad thing in the long-term. PwC research —commissioned by Gas Industry Co— has found New Zealand's gas market will need to shrink sharply as domestic supply declines. It warns this could mean business closures, job losses, and higher energy costs.