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"The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority is undergoing a painful pivot, having tens of millions slashed from its operational funding over several years as the previous administration’s policies are swept away or changed," writes David Williams in Newsroom. Mike Casey, whose all-electric orchard was supported by EECA grants, weighs in on the changes and what he would like to see EECA focus on.
As the story says:
Kiwis are generally frustrated with the country’s energy sector, he says.
“I would love to see EECA move down the path of really looking at figuring out ways of enabling New Zealand to swap their energy from gas and petrol to electric, and when it comes to electric, making sure they look at the cheapest energy possible, which is energy on their own rooftops.”
When Mike Casey bought his house near Cromwell, it came with gas bottles on the side of the home for water and an expensive diesel system for the underfloor heating. He replaced both of them with a Steibel Eltron system and it's been saving him money ever since. As technical manager Bhawesh Singh told him at the Electrify Queenstown conference, there has been a big influx in enquiries from homes looking to get off the molecules and onto electrons.
Read moreDownloadConfidence that cutting regulations to make solar power more accessible - won't jeopardise people's safety. A new Regulation Ministry reports laid out a potential blueprint to legalise plug-in solar and reduce the time and cost of panel installation. Rewiring Aotearoa CEO Mike Casey shares his thoughts with Andrew Dickens.
The burgeoning demand for solar was also a chance to address a mismatch between the numbers of training opportunities available and young people searching for work, Casey said. "The mums of New Zealand are telling me that there's not enough apprenticeships for their kids and the solar installers of New Zealand are telling me there's not enough trained people."
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