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“The real hope is in the collective; that many people are working towards this.”
In a Newsroom piece on how to fight against 'eco-paralysis', Dr Niki Harré says people are more likely to take part in something when they believe “we are in this together”. Individual actions are also about "more than material impact; they help to build a collective culture where broader change becomes possible". And that's what is happening with the grassroots electrification movement.
Electrify the Hutt, an expo that was organised by a committed bunch of locals and was inspired by the Electrify Wairarapa event last year, attracted almost 1300 people to the Lower Hutt Town Hall. Attendees were there to hear from experts, see the latest electric tech (including a massive loader), get their questions answered, and even eat a few pikelets cooked by an EV.
It was the largest and most ambitious community electrification event we’ve seen so far and it has definitely set a blueprint for other community groups to follow.
The exit survey saw a huge shift in people moving from 'not sure' about home electrification to feeling more confident after attending the event and, as Rewiring Aotearoa's Mike Casey and Jay Salzke say, it was an honour to be able to provide support to make it happen.
The Ministry for Regulation is undertaking a review of the rules and processes around small and medium scale solar installations. That affects many farms and businesses as well as those who own their own homes or renters keen on “plug-in” or balcony solar. This review is likely the biggest opportunity in the coming decades to future-proof the processes and rules to ensure New Zealand is set up for a lot more - and much cheaper - distributed solar. So fill in the survey before June 1.
Read moreDownloadWhen you live in a 'pocket neighbourhood', it makes sense to run on the sun and embrace electric tech - and that's exactly what the Peterborough Housing Co-op in Christchurch has done. Jim Small, a trustee for the Ōtākaro Land Trust, says the co-op has been around since the early '80s and it's "designed with the community in mind". Think shared spaces, shared gardens, cars on the outside, shared utilities and shared energy.
Read moreDownloadContact's grid-scale battery at Glenbrook is switched on and the Prime Minister talks again about 'energy independence' at the opening; how steel mills and smelters here and overseas are embracing electrons; the electric wave is a massive job creation opportunity (while imported oil does bugger all on that front) and renewable projects are set to keep New South Wales out of recession; batteries have all but displaced gas for peaks in Queensland in just a couple of years, and solar and wind overtake gas for the first time globally; data shows sales of internal combustion cars peaked in 2017 but sales of EVs more than doubled between 2022 -2025; and anyone with a heat pump is making a killing.
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