Up the Kilowahs! Checkout the EDB Scoreboard
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.
The Electricity Authority recently consulted on two important issues: 1) Who is able to access rewards for supplying power at peak times. And 2) How much energy consumers can export. We have again been blown away by the response from the people of New Zealand on these important proposals, and humbled that a large number used the information provided by Rewiring as the foundation for powerful submissions. Here's our summary of the responses and our take on the consultations.
Read moreDownloadSolar is already cheap and an increasing number of farmers are discovering that, but Mattt Luscombe has found a way to make it even cheaper. The founder of FarmGen says architects like steel, but engineers like efficiency and taking steel out of the build and instead relying on ground anchors means the owners get more generation for less outlay.
Read moreDownloadWorld Energy Council shows cost is now the biggest issue in New Zealand's energy sector; more New Zealanders running on the sun; as reality catches up with gas users, the Google data tells a story in Australia; focus on the benefits for climate comms; electric events FTW; and Tom Sainsbury gets dirty for Uber Electric
Read moreDownload