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Whether big or small, it makes sense to go electric when you're building new and Parakiore, a $500 million project located on the site of an old brewery in Christchurch, is a great example of that.Parakiore will be the largest indoor sports facility and swimming complex in Australasia when it opens soon and, as Christchurch City Council's head of facilities and property Bruce Rendall says, choosing to use local electrons instead of burning molecules was about reducing emissions AND reducing the financial burden on ratepayers."We look at solutions that do both."
One of the most innovative features of the new facility is that it heats the water using wastewater, a heat exchanger and a heatpump.
All of the council's facilities are increasingly looking to use renewable energy he says, and while the main council building and art gallery have been heated using waste gas from landfill, that is coming to the end of its life soon and an electric replacement will be employed.
While large organisations like councils can negotiate good deals on power because they are such big users, he says it makes sense for public buildings to be generating their own energy and it is also looking at solar and battery solutions.
The new library and pool facility in Hornby has over 600 panels installed, generates around one quarter of the energy it needs and could save around $90,000 each year, so it will be monitoring that project closely and seeing how it can improve the financials at its other facilities.
Te Kaha, the soon-to-open covered stadium, is also fully electric and set up for solar, and it's great to see the Christchurch City Council making good decisions at the outset. Hopefully it inspires other councils and big players to explore the benefits of getting off fossil fuels.
New South Wales gets the memo about the importance of finance and announces scheme offering zero interest loans to households to upgrade to electric stuff; plug-in solar gets the tick of approval to go on sale in the UK soon and the New York Times says it could 'change America'; EVolocity takes electrification to the streets to gets the kids inspired (and eventually employed); a tour of the amazing recycling business Redwood Materials; Think Solar and BYD give it away now; and a skit that cuts close to the bone for many solar dads.
Read moreDownloadAdvances in technology and falling costs mean customer-owned solar and batteries can play a critical role in New Zealand’s energy infrastructure - improving affordability, resilience and sustainability. Multiple trading relationships (MTR) and peer-to-peer trading would enable this potential by increasing competition, customer choice, and innovation in the electricity market, unlocking greater consumer benefits from customer solar and batteries.
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