Trucking along nicely

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Rewiring Aotearoa is mostly focused on electrifying all the small machines in our economy, from the whipper snippers to the cars. But there’s also a fair bit of action on the big new electric machines front and Fletcher Building has just introduced a powerful e-dumper affectionaltely known as the Green Giant in its Belmont Quarry in Wellington. 

We wrote about some of the major manufacturers moving in the electric direction a few weeks back and Winstone Aggregates general manager Amanda Croft says the trial is part of its mission to reduce emissions by 30% by 2030.

The site was chosen because the new EV can make the most of regenerative braking. Most of the other sites require hauling materials uphill from a pit.

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“It allows us to haul material downhill, meaning the dumper can travel up empty and come back down full of rock, generating its own electricity on the way down.” 

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When it comes to carrying humans, Christchurch and its transport partner Kinetic are fully onboard with electric options as well. 

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The council has committed to having a fully zero-emission fleet by 2035 at the latest and, after the 21 new arrivals (10 of which were funded by NZTA/Waka Kotahi’s Climate Emergency Response Fund programme), it currently has 65 EV buses in operation. 

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Rewiring Aotearoa believes we need more electric public transport and active modes to help reduce the number of cars on the road, and the cars we do have should all be EVs. 

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Hard talk

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A recent report on energy hardship from the Raukawa Energy Innovation Project, The Lever Room and the University of Otago’s He Kāinga Oranga – Housing and Health Research Programme, used temperature monitors to provide real world data on the scale of the problem. As the report summarises: “In a world where those in privileged positions are purchasing residential energy innovations, such as solar PV systems and electric vehicles to reduce their energy bills, many of the most vulnerable in society cannot even afford grid electricity to adequately warm their homes.”

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“The Raukawa Energy Innovation Project looks to innovate on methods to reduce and subsidise power bills and identify what is required of these interventions to generate positive wellbeing outcomes, while also promoting mana motuhake (self-determination) and tino rangatiratanga (sovereignty) for the Raukawa whānau during the sustainable energy transition.”

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Rewiring Aotearoa is working to create a similarly equitable transition and access to finance is a key part of the puzzle. Now that they have gathered data - one of the many confronting stats was that 98.8% of the homes in the study experienced temperatures below the WHO-recommended minimum for more than one third of the time in winter - the trust and the researchers are hoping to offer different financial models and subsidies to help whanau at the top of the cliff, rather than the bottom, and they're looking for funding to make it happen.

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Energy hardship can't be solved if the energy is already too expensive and the price keeps going up. That's why we should be working towards zero energy bill households.

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Pay to play

At the opposite end of the spectrum, some resort towns in the US have developed a novel scheme to make up for the carbon emitted by some popular outdoor leisure activities and machines. 

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Offsets have come in for plenty of scrutiny recently and we’re in favour of real emissions reductions through electrification, but the powers that be call it a ‘renewable energy mitigation plan’ and it calculates the carbon dioxide emitted from things like hot tubs, heated driveways and outdoor gas fires and then requires an offset in the form of photovoltaic solar panels, hot water solar, wind or small hydropower projects or heat pumps. 

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“Solar PV is the easiest and most economical,” according to one of the reps, and we would agree.

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And if you don’t go green, you need to cough up some green, which for many of the wealthy homeowners in these resort towns was often incidental. A hot tub costs around $1600 to offset and this money goes toward climate focused projects. 

Given “exterior energy use was 50% of the total home energy use for some residences”, it’s an important and often overlooked area to focus on (*ahem, Queenstown Lakes, ahem*). 

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No rush

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EV maker Rivian recently received a multi-billion dollar injection from Volkswagen and it has obviously spent a bit of it on its new charging outpost in Groveland, California, near Yosemite National Park. And, while our charging infrastructure in New Zealand is definitey on the improve, this renovated petrol station is a cut above what we’re used to.

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“As much as we want to keep people moving on their journey, we also want to make sure they know that when they stop at one of our Charging Outposts, they’re in for a relaxing and recharging pit stop,” says Liz Guerrero, Senior Director of Environments at Rivian. “We want people to feel really good about the experience and for it to add to their journey.”  

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Airport lounges have transformed flying. Maybe EV charging set-ups like this could transform driving.

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Feel the heat (and also the cold)

Love songs aren’t normally focused on inanimate objects, but this ode to the versatility and, dare we say, downright sexiness of the heat pump is easily the best we’ve ever heard.

"When you want it hot, I’m hot for you (I’m your heat pump) / When you want it cool, I’m cool witchu, babe / Any way you want it, I got you, babe I got you, baby. I'm your heat pump."

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