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Talk about driving change!ETrucks' Ross Linton is at the forefront of New Zealand's nascent electric trucking scene and can claim responsibility for a number of firsts, from the country's first electric concrete truck to the country's first battery swap set up. Since he brought his first electric truck in to the country back in 2018, the technology has advanced massively and driving on electrons has become quite a bit cheaper than diesel and, not surprisingly, that's inspiring a great deal of interest among businesses.
Per kilometre, he says the long haul Windrose electric truck, which he brought into the country for the first time last year and can travel around 600km fully loaded on one charge, costs around $1.20 per kilometre. A diesel truck costs around $2 per kilometre. If you're in the transport business, that's a big difference and a major productivity opportunity. And if you're in the business of reducing emissions, it's also a big difference.
Some businesses have been willing to go electric early and pay an environmental or early adopter premium, but that's no longer required. It's now just good business, and that's why everything from massive mining companies to public transport providers are increasingly choosing to invest in battery powered machinery.
When the economics stack up - and they are likely to when you look at the long-term costs, rather than the sticker price - that's when things start to change. But social proof is still important when it comes to increasing adoption of new technologies and we often need examples to create confidence. Linton and his team deserve credit for taking the risk, leading the way and providing machines that can do the job for less, provide a better experience for drivers and don't pump out toxic fumes.
As Minister of energy, climate and local government, Simon Watts had a great opportunity to push the country towards cheaper, cleaner and more reliable New Zealand-made energy. And that’s why we laid down a challenge and gave him the ‘MegaWatts’ moniker last year. Rewiring Aotearoa CEO Mike Casey says he did some good things, like enabling more solar on farms, removing tax on solar exports, fixing onerous solar consenting requirements, putting pressure on the lines companies to pull up their socks, and getting the ball rolling on the Ratepayer Assistance Scheme. "But the LNG import terminal appears to have been a defining issue."
Read moreDownloadAfter ‘crunching the numbers’ and adding in new sources of ‘New Zealand-made energy’ to our equations, CEO Mike Casey has announced that Rewiring Aotearoa will be changing its name to Refuelling Aotearoa. There has been a huge amount of independently verified research showing electrification beats fossil fuels on economics, efficiency, emissions and energy security and that there is a huge opportunity for New Zealand to electrify, but the discovery of an infinite supply of snake oil in New Zealand has changed everything, he says.
Read moreDownload"We’ve got fuel prices climbing towards four dollars a litre. We’ve got global instability, supply lines under pressure, and once again New Zealand is sitting here — exposed. But what’s different this time…it’s the reaction."