The 'Electric Election': energy policies, side by side
Has Zane Kaihe got a deal for you! Anyone who buys something from Alpine Heat Pumps, will "get to see my smiley face at your house". Kaihe has been in Queenstown for 27 years supplying and installing heat pumps around the region. "That is pretty much all I do." We reckon he and his fellow tradies will be the heroes of New Zealand's electric transition because we're going to need a lot of them for all the solar and batteries, space and water heat pumps, cooktops and EV chargers being installed in the coming years.
Heat pumps on the wall are pretty standard in New Zealand now but they're also a good option for underfloor heating and Kaihe says he is now getting into domestic hot water.
If you're looking to get off the diesel boiler - something Mike Casey did a few years back before the price skyrocketed- it can be done economically, he says, but every home is different and it might require some tinkering and expert advice to ensure it can do the job.
Getting the gas bottles off the side of the house is an easier swap (and there's also an opportunity for people in the region to get an actual good deal on a hot water heat pump through the Queenstown Electrification Accelerator's group discount scheme)⚡https://loom.ly/GymHGIA
BloombergNEF says sales of combustion cars peaked in 2017 and there's no coming back, while a new study in New Zealand shows petrol vehicles were losing value more quickly than equivalent models did a decade ago; big batteries aren't just for storing electricity, they can also store heat; the story of the world's biggest electric ferry and the Australian company that made it; electric motorbikes are doing a lot of heavy lifting on emissions reduction, so why don't they get more attention?; and a new show called HallowGreen2 that tackles the energy transition "with music, humour and a hopeful message”.
Read moreDownloadRNZ's Kate Newton looks at why no-one is really talking about emissions as an election issue. As Mike Casey said: "The climate movement up until this point has been very, very good at creating dartboards, but terrible at providing people with darts to play the game." That's allowed for inaction, and active lobbying against climate change action from fossil fuel companies and others who stand to lose out ... The solution is "flipping it into a strong economic narrative that they can't possibly fight with".
Read moreDownloadHumans are comparative creatures and they're particularly comparative during election season. That's why we've created a rundown of all the energy-related election policies that have been announced by the parties so far.
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