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In Businessdesk, Patrick Smellie writes about Rewiring Aotearoa's manifesto and the strong endorsement of the Electricity Authority.
As he wrote:
The Electricity Authority (EA), which also has a green paper out for submissions on decentralised energy production by June 4, took the unusual step of effectively endorsing the Rewiring Aotearoa report.
The report advocates rooftop solar and other small-scale renewable energy initiatives to decentralise energy production.
“We agree with Rewiring Aotearoa that New Zealand’s centralised electricity system can be complemented by more localised energy resources,” the EA’s chief executive, Sarah Gillies, said in a statement.
“Power generated at a local level can enhance resilience to climate change impacts, improve affordability, progress decarbonisation and empower communities and local economies.”
Rewiring Aotearoa argued that NZ’s energy system is broken and that “our leaders need to start backing everyday NZers, the country and the future rather than continuing to protect vested interests and fiddling around the edges”.
“Electrification and a step change in customer participation through rooftop solar and batteries offer massive economic and environmental benefits, but major barriers - such as limited finance access, outdated regulations, and biased pricing structures - are holding the country back.”
Rewiring Aotearoa’s report said that while critics would query the cost of its 59-point manifesto, it said it was “the current system that’s costing us”.
“The policies laid out in our manifesto should not be seen as a cost; they are an opportunity to invest and save, an opportunity to create a more productive economy, and an opportunity to show the world what's possible.”
Financial commentator Frances Cook uses her own story to show that that an investment in solar and an EV significantly outperforms the stock market and fellow number cruncher Nadine Higgins says that if you do it right, EVs are cheaper to run and own; EV sales have climbed to their highest level since 2022 and are closing in on 2023's numbers and Go Rentals has just invested $2.3 million in some new Tesla Model Y Premiums; the gap between energy costs of diesel vans and utes and electric vans and utes is absolutely massive; solar is also going off right now, with one installer in Otago 448% above their sales target in March; Lightforce has gone back to the Barretts with a new TV ad; Wellington mayor Andrew Little explains its electrification strategy and Hutt City Council shares data showing how its fleet has gone from dirty Toyotas to cleaner EVs; Shenzen in China has electrified its public transport and taxis and that's come with big benefits - and some challenges; and a very simple illustration of the LNG terminal.
Read moreDownloadAs 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."
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