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More farmers are getting in behind solar, batteries and electric machines. For Blair and Jodi Drysdale, who run Hopefield Farm in Southland, the decision to invest was mostly about reducing energy costs over the long term, but it's also come with a number of other benefits.
Last year, when massive winds knocked out power in the area for five days, their solar and battery set-up kicked into gear.
"Nothing stopped for us," he says. And they were also able to offer neighbours, family and friends hot showers.
Most days, the 21kW solar array fills up the 52kWh battery system and, to those who question how much sun they get in Southland, he says "it's never let us down yet".
The whole set-up was around $80k - including a line upgrade - and he's hopeful the investment will be paid off in around five years.
When you're generating your own cheap energy, it makes sense to use as much of it as possible. All the siloes have electric fans, they use electric tools and they've even bought an electric ATV. And the beauty of the modular solar system is that more can easily be added if electricity usage increases.
Drysdale says he was initially pretty sceptical of the electric farms pitch but, after being presented with all the facts and figures, he says it was a no brainer. And while the environmental benefits were not the main motivation, reducing emissions is another added bonus.
Farmers tend to listen to farmers and, with plenty of Fonterra dairy farmers set to get a significant payout soon, we hope some of them can see the potential of putting it towards a system like the one of Hopefield farm and a growing number of other farms around the country.
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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