The case for energy loans: read our latest explainer
Meridian cuts the ribbon on its big new battery set-up at a place that's closely connected to fossil fuels; Aussie company AUSEV gets approval to send its tweaked electric Ford utes to New Zealand; Pivotal sends its electric ultralight flying machine skyward; Phoenix explains - and expands - its solar panel recycling scheme; and Octopus Energy announces a scheme in the UK where landlords and tenants can benefit from solar.
Plenty in store
Just as cars took over the roads from horses, the batteries are coming for fossil fuels at Marsden Point and the ribbon was cut on Meridian’s big ol’ battery set up at the Ruakaka Energy Park today.
As RNZ reported:
With an ability to pump up to 100 megawatts (MW) of power into the national grid, Meridian's battery site aims to solve one of the key shortcomings of solar power - that the sun often isn't shining when power is most in demand.
The battery energy storage site (BESS) covers an area equivalent to two rugby fields and consists of 80 shipping-container-sized lithium-ion batteries, produced by French company Saft.
Meridian is also planning to build one of the country's biggest solar power stations next to the battery site.
Consent has already been granted for the solar farm, which will have about 200,000 panels spread over three sites totalling 172 hectares.
Once completed next year, the solar farm's annual output is expected to total 150-200 gigawatt-hours (GWh), enough to power half the homes in Northland.
Shane Jones, who announced a $200 million policy to support more gas fields in yesterday’s budget, was in Northland to open the new battery site (which also used electric diggers for some of the construction work). The former is a policy we don’t think will pay off and is looking to the past, but with New Zealand’s renewable resources, investing in more solar and batteries (large and small) definitely will pay off and is an investment in the future.
Rewiring Aotearoa's policy manifesto, which will be released next week outlines how we can create a cheaper, cleaner and stronger energy system, so sign up to our newsletter to get sent a copy.
Ride the lightning
New Zealanders holding out hope for a fully electric ute are still waiting for options to arrive, but for those who just can’t hang on, there is an answer because Australian company AUSEV is now able to export its tweaked Ford F150 Lightnings to New Zealand after Richard Lee from Independent Training Audit Services certified the truck for New Zealand compliance.
The company has already delivered a few vehicles to New Zealand - and we imagine there will be a few more of them heading our way soon following this news.
As the below review shows, it's certainly hitting the spot on one Australian farm.
Up, up and away
If you’re looking to stay off the roads, then California start-up Pivotal could be an option. Its Helix machine claims to "bring the wonder of flight with the world's first powered-lift, vertical takeoff and landing ultralight". And if you’ve got a spare US$190k, it’s yours.
Panel discussion
New Zealanders are rightly concerned about waste, but the beauty of renewables is that many of the materials can be recycled, as opposed to fossil fuels that are burned and just disappear into the air.
We mentioned local company Phoenix in our explainer on the promise of a more circular electric economy and while it’s important to note that solar panel waste will pale into insignificance in comparison to our current wasteful approach, the company has laid out more details about its solar panel recycling scheme.
“We accept all the common types of framed solar panels used across residential, commercial, and utility-scale installations in New Zealand. Whether you're upgrading your system, have damaged panels, decommissioning a solar farm, or managing end-of-life panels from a project site, we can recycle them. Once processed, up to 98% of a panel’s components can be successfully recovered and re-manufactured into new products. Now available at: Whangārei, Onehunga, Hamilton, Blenheim, Christchurch & Dunedin. Our other Phoenix sites are coming online soon."
Find out more here.
Full circle
The circular economy is not just about the environment, however. Increasingly it's good business and, as we mentioned in last week’s rundown, recyclable minerals are starting to be seen as a strategic asset that you can stockpile, which is very different to hydrocarbons that you use and need to have resupplied.
China realised this a long time ago and, as Motion Capital’s Lachlan Nixon wrote:
Localisation. Resilience. Control. These aren’t buzzwords - they’re the new currency of competitive advantage … As global supply chains fracture and the world de-globalises, sustainability isn’t just about doing good - it’s about staying strong.”
Check out his piece with Closed Loop Partners, which explores “why the circular economy is fast becoming a security strategy, not just a climate one”.
One for all and all for sun
Rewiring has been working on a solar for renters scheme in New Zealand, and Octopus Energy is on the same page with its new Tenant Power offer in the UK.
As we have often said, those with the lowest incomes stand to benefit most from the savings of going electric and adding solar, but the split incentive means landlords are not incentivised to invest. That's changing.
Nigel Banks, Zero Bills Director at Octopus Energy, said: “One of the biggest blockers to scaling green social housing has been the lack of incentives for landlords. “‘Tenant Power’ removes that barrier by giving landlords a clear return on their investment in low-carbon tech, while delivering meaningful savings for tenants. It’s a win-win model for both landlord and tenant which helps accelerate the roll out of affordable, sustainable housing.”
The company believes tenants could save "up to £200 per year compared to a standard variable tariff".
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.