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Lightforce Solar is one of the bigger players in the national solar scene and it's doing a great job of normalising the technology and ramping up the neighbourhood effect with its Barrett-heavy ad campaign. Now it's seen the light and opened up a hub in the rapidly growing Central Otago region. Solar enquiries have been off the charts in recent months as energy security becomes more of a dinner-table discussion and more homes electrify their transport. As consultant Sam Risbrook told Mike Casey at Electrify Queenstown, there's a lot of demand in the residential sector down south and farms are the next major focus, something close to Casey's heart (Lightforce Solar has recently inked a partnership with Federated Farmers).
Risbrook has been with Lightforce for around seven years and he says it's set up to do jobs all around the region from its Cromwell hub.
For him, it's all about premium products, premium installs and support for the life of the system. And if you're more swayed by political celebrities than rugby players, Labour leader Chris Hipkins is another happy customer in the Hutt.
When Mike Casey bought his house near Cromwell, it came with gas bottles on the side of the home for water and an expensive diesel system for the underfloor heating. He replaced both of them with a Steibel Eltron system and it's been saving him money ever since. As technical manager Bhawesh Singh told him at the Electrify Queenstown conference, there has been a big influx in enquiries from homes looking to get off the molecules and onto electrons.
Read moreDownloadConfidence that cutting regulations to make solar power more accessible - won't jeopardise people's safety. A new Regulation Ministry reports laid out a potential blueprint to legalise plug-in solar and reduce the time and cost of panel installation. Rewiring Aotearoa CEO Mike Casey shares his thoughts with Andrew Dickens.
The burgeoning demand for solar was also a chance to address a mismatch between the numbers of training opportunities available and young people searching for work, Casey said. "The mums of New Zealand are telling me that there's not enough apprenticeships for their kids and the solar installers of New Zealand are telling me there's not enough trained people."
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