Te Whakahiko i ngā Marae | the Electric Marae report
"I always hated the idea of a generator next to me running." Nils Kühlsen was enhancing the buzz at the Electrify Hawke's Bay expo recently and he was doing it with his solar-powered N.O.W (Nils on Wheels) coffee bus.
There are six solar panels on the roof and they run all the machines inside and charge a battery for those rare occasions when the sun isn't shining in The Bay. That means it's very quiet and, if he's at the beach, "you can listen to the waves" rather than the hum of a generator.
He invested about $12k upfront, but the running costs are a lot lower than filling up with diesel or petrol (and there's a lot less hassle, too).
The old bus still runs on petrol, so how about a fully electric bus with solar panels to make those electric coffees?
"That's the future," he says.
Rewiring Aotearoa's Matt Newman: "For marae, however, there aren't a huge amount of places where they could turn to unless they're engaging professional services around electrification. We know that that hasn't often been in the funding piece either. You know, funders will happily fund upgrades for marae, but they won't fund the due diligence that's necessary to support marae in making really good decisions for the long-term future."
Read moreDownloadRewiring Aotearoa CEO Mike Casey told Andrew Dickens plug-in solar is a simple process, which many countries including the US, UK, and places across Europe have made the most of. Labour's policy is similar but says changes to enable plug-in solar would be within 12 months of a government it leads taking office.
A shocking increase in the power bill for a marae that converted to solar energy has raised concerns about installers and regulation. The monthly power bill for Taranaki's Owae Marae has rocked to as much as $2000 a month, up from about $400. That's despite installing a solar system on its wharekai to save money. Matt Newman from Rewiring Aotearoa spoke to Lisa Owen about this issue and our new Electric Marae report.
