Operation Laser Kiwi: help us take New Zealand-made energy on the road
For Andrew Cranswick, operations manager at Tumu Timbers in Hastings, the calculation was pretty simple: solar costs had dropped by about a third since they last ooked at it, and power prices had gone up by about the same amount.
If something makes financial sense, he says the board will always support it. And, as they were on a fixed price for their electricity, it was clear the energy they could generate on their own roof was the cheapest energy they could get, something more homes, farms and businesses are discovering.
Working with local company Isaacs, they installed a 340kw solar array and the idea is to use as much of it as possible. The company is planning another similar sized install on another roof.
He says payback will be between 5 and 6 years and the savings will keep coming after that.
Australia reaches a milestone in August, with more new electric cars sold than petrol cars; another new study shows EV batteries last longer than the myths have made out; Heart Aerospace sends the world's heaviest electric plane skywards; China's massive mining machine hits the dirt; and we've fully embraced heat pumps to warm the air, now they're coming for our water.
Read moreDownloadNew Zealand spends about as much on petrol and diesel as it earns exporting concentrated milk. Mike Casey says that money leaves the country, and most of it does not have to. He runs a cherry orchard in Central Otago on 21 electric machines, and a $50,000 diesel bill became a $25,000 revenue stream before financing costs. What I Asked Mike👉 How much money does New Zealand lose every year buying fuel from offshore?👉 What did it actually cost to electrify 21 machines?👉 What is the real payback period, machine by machine?👉 What can you do if you lease your building and cannot touch the roof?👉 Who should not do this?
Read moreDownloadA pinch and a punch (and a big bunch of new EVs) for the first of the month. The Rewiring gang is always pretty jazzed about the release of the new car sales numbers each month and, while the short-term stats tend to bounce around a bit, the long-term trend is clear: sales of new EVs are up by 150% year to date and sales of new petrol vehicles are down by 15% in the same period.
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