'This car can...' Check out our new campaign
St Heliers Presbyterian Church and Community Centre has seen the light! Jody Bews-Hair, one of the directors of the charitable company operating Community Centre facilities and project co-initiator, says installing 68 solar panels and a battery was driven by three key motivations: building community resilience, environmental sustainability, and managing rising energy costs.
The system is estimated to save over $500 per month; carbon emissions are expected to be reduced by almost five tonnes; and the church's new battery system means it can operate as a Community Emergency Hub during power outages.
Over 100 congregation members came together to launch the installation – many wearing yellow in recognition of the solar milestone – alongside community leaders, Ōrākei Local Board representatives, Rewiring Aotearoa, Eco Church New Zealand, and Lightforce Solar representatives. Rev Dr. Jordan Redding led the ceremony and there was also a cake cutting featuring a church-shaped cake complete with chocolate solar panels.
"We are exceptionally grateful to our parishioners who generously donated close to $60,000 to make this vision a reality," says Bews-Hair. "Combined with the Ōrākei Local Board's $8,000 grant, this community support shows what's possible when we work together. We hope this inspires other churches and community centres to explore solar solutions. The research by Rewiring Aotearoa shows incredible potential for household power savings from solar across New Zealand. If we can lead by example, perhaps more of our community will consider solar for their own homes and businesses."
There are a lot more New Zealanders looking for EVs right now as concerns about the price and availability of fuel rises. But many of them are new to the scene. Here are some things to consider to ensure you get the right EV for your needs.
Read moreDownloadThere’s a lot of talk about what electric vehicles can’t do and plenty of myths and misperceptions that might stop people from upgrading. But the people who actually own EVs? They’re overwhelmingly sold and recent research showed that 96% of EV owners would buy another one. That's why we're launching 'This Car Can...' We want to tap into that electric enthusiasm and convince more New Zealanders who may be on the fence to start running on cheap local electrons rather than on expensive imported foreign molecules.
EV owners love all the things their cars can do - and they can do a lot of different things these days. So we're asking them to share a story about their EV experience, upload a photo and tell us what their car can do, or send in a video.
We'll add them to the campaign page and we'll use the best ones on socials and in our advocacy to show how lots of different New Zealanders are benefitting from EVs in their lives.
We've also compiled a whole heap of information on why we love EVs - from the savings to the speed off the mark and everything inbetween.
Get in behind!