The 'Electric Election': energy policies, side by side
Once you've electrified your own life, we suggest you electrify someone else's life. Mike Casey has managed to convince a lot of people to do that, including his parents, but his dad Simon Casey has taken things up a notch recently by buying 648 panels for his lifestyle block in the Wairarapa.
As the son says to the father, perhaps with a tinge of envy: "That's double the size of my array. Why did you do this?"
"Well, I can't have you one-up me," laughs the father, perhaps laying down a solar gauntlet.
Casey Snr says lifestyle block owners understand that you don't get much money back from your land. But this $350,000 investment that will take up around one third of his three hectare property is expected to return $70,000 per year through exporting energy.
That's a lot better than any bank interest rate of return, he says, and even if it was half that it would still be a successful investment.
He says we need to move away from a centralised system and the ability for lots of different New Zealanders to contribute energy, rather than just consume it, really excites him.
If you can, he recommends people go solar because you're contributing to your own solution, becoming somewhat independent from the grid, assisting others and saving money.
He says we'll always need the grid as a back-up, but this technology is also crucial when it comes to resilience. He says there have been 12 grid outages since the solar and batteries were installed at their home and they were fine - even during a 12 hour outage following a storm.
"Peace of mind has a benefit that you can't just put down to dollars and sense."
He's already invested in an electric vehicle. And his other machines are next up given he has "pretty much free energy".
In a world of political polarisation, solar is one thing that people from across the spectrum seem to agree on. Casey Snr is at the conservative end of that spectrum, but solar obviously "tickles the libertarian in [him]" and we need to do everything we can to ensure customers have a level playing field against the big incumbents.
With all the disruption to shipping and the looming cost increases being added on to the fossil fuel system as new risks are priced in, relying on the ships to keep coming and hoping prices drop is not a great strategy, but stocking up on solar panels that don't need to be refuelled for 30 years seems like a smart move right now.
Running on New Zealand-made energy works at home, at this larger scale, and for the country as a whole.
'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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