The 'Electric Election': energy policies, side by side
Lots of community centres run on human energy. But South Alive in Invercargill also runs on the sun and that's saving them heaps.
South Alive started back in 2012 and is almost like a 'community headquarters' for locals to use in whatever way they need, whether it's a meeting room, a sense of connection, or a flat white at the newly opened cafe.
As Claire McDonagh tells Mike Casey, being able to provide a community space like this comes at a cost and power made up a huge percentage of its overheads. But with the help of a community grant from the Tiwai Aluminium Smelter, a 60kW system was installed on its sizeable roof by NES.
McDonagh says it's been about a year since the panels were put up. They're now in credit after the summer months and the panels produced plenty of energy in autumn and spring last year.
The building is a Civil Defence hub and they opened up the facilities to anyone who needed help after the big wind event in October last year knocked out a lot of power.
She says batteries are the next logical step as they will be able to keep the building going after a natural disaster.
'Twas the night before Chris-mas, and all through the house, all the voters were stirring, the pundits showing their nous … the election will soon be over, but the energy crisis won't, so we'll be there to pester whoever is in power about the need to run more of the economy on New Zealand-made energy; can Ethiopia's aggressive push for EVs work and how does New Zealand compare in terms of adoption rates?; a two-way charging trial from Genesis shows promise in Auckland, but there's still a way to go before it's mainstream; small electric vehicles are often overlooked when it comes to electrifying transport, but it's hard to miss this weird French one; a solar-powered cafe (and some electric coffee); and we endorse the political vandalism of Keith of All Trades.
Read moreDownloadPoliticians are being urged to adopt stronger electric vehicle incentives ahead of the election. Climate and energy advocacy group Rewiring Aotearoa is arguing that EVs are one of the most effective long-term solutions for rising transport and energy costs. They're promoting an EV Salary Boost proposal, which would allow workers to access EVs through pre-tax salary arrangements – similarly to already existing schemes in the UK and Australia. Policy and Government Relations Spokesperson Ngaio Neumegen told Kerre Woodham that even with the rising cost of power, it's still cheaper to run an EV than a car running on imported fuel.
A proposal that would let New Zealanders lease an electric car using their before-tax pay has not won a commitment from either National or Labour, with the 7 November election days away. Under the EV Salary Boost, put forward by Rewiring Aotearoa and Drive Electric, an employee would lease a new or used EV for three to five years. The payments would come out of their pay before tax, lowering the cost of running the car. The idea is based on Australia’s novated leasing system, though the groups say they are not proposing a direct copy.
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