The case for energy loans: read our latest explainer
A massive week for New Zealand's electrification push with a big conference, a big manifesto and a big campaign aimed at a minister with a once-in-a-generation opportunity to do something big; Farmlands and Blackcurrent launch a new product to make it easier for farmers to invest in solar and storage; ASB compares a house run on dino juice with a house run on electricity; some sage advice from a solar expert about what to look out for; and a car that brings a new meaning to 'electricute'.
Resistance is futile
It's been one of the biggest weeks in Rewiring Aotearoa's history and perhaps one of the biggest weeks for electrification in New Zealand.
The three day Electrify Queenstown conference was a huge success and a big step up from the inaugural event last year. The conference covered all the bases - from the big ideas and strategies, right through to the electric innovators and how-to sessions for the community - and proved just how much electric momentum there is in the region. Kudos to the team at Destination Queenstown for pulling it off and for recognising the only way the region will meet its ambitious climate goals is to electrify everything.
We also launched Rewiring Aotearoa's policy manifesto during the conference and it landed with a thud in Wellington. As this story from Newsroom's Marc Daalder showed, one of the most important policies in it - low-interest, long-term electrification loans - already has broad political support.
The manifesto was for all politicians, regulators and officials, but we laid down a challenge to one man in particular, the current Minister of Energy, Climate and Local Government Simon Watts - or, as we have named him, MegaWatts.
His combination of portfolios gives him an opportunity to bring our vision to life and help all New Zealanders. We're putting as much pressure as possible on the coalition Government to deliver something while they're in power. But we're also applying pressure to the opposition parties and asking them to increase their ambition if they want to get back into power.
Keep an eye out for some more MegaWatts action next week and make sure you send a message to let him know you're keen on our vision.
Flexy and they know it
A recent survey showed that 70% of farmers - of all types and demographics - would be interested in installing solar. And that's not surprising. As Mike Casey has shown on his orchard, and as more farmers are discovering, it’s a massive opportunity to reduce costs and emissions and strengthen our energy system. And now Farmlands and tech company Blackcurrent are launching a new product called Flex to make it easier.
The joint venture aims to deliver "intelligent microgrid systems that promise to slash electricity costs, boost energy resilience, and unlock a new era of rural energy independence."
For those who already have solar, it offers an upgrade to an intelligent energy system.
Every farm is different, but a case study on the site shows the benefits:
Gavin and Kylie Bay from Bay Shear Ltd, situated just outside Oxford in Canterbury, invested earlier this year by installing solar panels on their dairy shed through the Farmlands FLEX initiative. The installation and sign-off took place in early February 2025, marking the beginning of their solar journey.
The FLEX Solution
Gavin and Kylie decided to start small by installing a 38kW solar system, paired with the FLEX platform. They initially expected to save $400-500 per month on their dairy shed's electricity bill. Instead, in their first full month using solar power saved them $550. The performance of the system has reinforced the long-term value of owning their own system, and they are now planning the next stage of their electrification journey.
Results at a Glance
7yrs 6mth Payback
$7,705 Annual Savings
14.14% ROI
38% Self-Powered
The official launch will happen at Fieldays, which kicks on in a couple of weeks.
No dino
Rewiring Aotearoa recently published a big explainer on how the economics of going electric work, and we also worked with ASB to produce a report on household and rural electrification. TLDR: there's plenty of latent demand and lots of barriers in the way.
We need the banks to develop more financial products to speed this transition up, but they are also big companies with big marketing budgets and they have the potential to raise awareness and change perspectives.
ASB has launched a page to educate customers and it's also started to promote some of the cost differences between electric appliances and fossil fuel appliances on social media. It's decided to use a dinosaur to illustrate what is now an antiquated, dirty and expensive technology: gas.
Shining a light
Solar stacks up for most homes, but it can get complicated. We've answered a few of the common question here and provided a guide here. And if you're after some more info, My Solar Quotes has just released a video with some helpful advice from EcoShine’s Edwin O'Dea.
Founder Kristy Hoare runs through:
And if you want to ask a question about any upgrade - whether solar on the roof or a hot water heat pump - remember to check out the Going Electric Facebook Group.
Small is beautiful
While there's an inherent fascination with the big electric stuff that's currently being released - partially because some didn't think it would be possible for some of these machines to ever run on electrons - small vehicles make up a massive chunk of the total global fleet (especially in Asia and the developing world) and are often all that is required for city living.
The fossil fuel versions are often loud, polluting and inefficient but, increasingly, these machines are going electric. So for those who argue that big cars aren't necessary, the Microlina Spiaggina could be for you. As it shows, the electric transition will be fun - and cute!
In the last Electric Avenue of 2025, we look at the two biggest trends in the world of energy; the Government goes electric for its fancy fleet upgrade; Nick Offerman offers his services to a US campaign extolling the virtues of EVs; Australia shows what's possible in new homes when you add solar, batteries and smart tech; a start-up selling portable solar and battery systems that wants it to be as easy and common as wi-fi; and The Lines Company looks to put some solar on the roof of the Ōtorohanga Kiwi House.
Read moreDownloadWhen it comes to electric farming, "the numbers are becoming undeniable," says Nicholson Poultry's Jeff Collings. With 60kW of solar, a Nissan Leaf as a 'farm quad', electric mowers, an electric ute that can run a water blaster, and even a chicken manure scraper made out of a wrecked Tesla that, as Rewiring's Matt Newman says, looks a bit like something out of Mad Max, "almost everything is electric". There aren't many others in New Zealand who have gone this far down the electric road. And, with his electric Stark Varg, the fastest off-road motorbike in the world, he's obviously having plenty of fun on that road, too.
Read moreDownloadRNZ's Kate Newton reports on the "madness" of thousands of new piped gas connections being installed into houses every year, despite dwindling supplies and higher lifetime costs.
Casey said it was positive that the numbers showed people starting to leave the gas network of their own accord, but not all households were in a position to make that choice.
"If we don't plan for a decommissioning of the gas network, then it's going to be a chaotic transition, where vulnerable New Zealanders really suffer."
As the research of Rewiring and others has shown, gas is expensive, it's getting more expensive, it's terrible for your health when burned inside and there are substitutes available right now that, on average, do the same job for less money over the long run for households, would save the country billions on health costs and lost productivity, and don't pump out unnecessary emissions.
Around 300,000 homes and businesses have connections to the gas network (it’s estimated another 300,000 use more expensive bottled gas, mostly in the South Island). The number of active connections has started to decline recently and the country’s largest gas network, Vector, is forecasting no new residential or commercial connections after 2029.
Upfront capital costs are the main barrier for many homes, which is why we're working hard on a low-interest, long-term loan scheme that can be used to pay for electric upgrades, including hot water heat pumps. This would mean paying for a new thing with a loan would be cheaper than paying to run the old thing.
Read more about the scheme here.
Disconnection costs are also a major barrier. We have seen examples where households permanently disconnecting from the network have been charged between $1,000 and $2,000 to have a meter permanently removed (i.e. digging up the pipes to the road), even though it should only cost customers $200 to have the connection capped at the house.
RNZ even reported a case where a business customer was quoted $7,500 but took the case to Utilities Disputes, where complaints about disconnection costs have been rising.
The Australian Energy Regulator and the state of Victoria have now capped the disconnection fees to a few hundred dollars to stop this kind of behaviour and protect households.