The case for energy loans: read our latest explainer
In this week's best of, a report showing that batteries beat oil by a long way when it comes to mining, EV sales in New Zealand still growing (and sun is an excellent fuel in Africa), the amazing electric machines currently being built in China, a handy video explainer on the concept of useful energy, and a classic Nissan Leaf commercial that makes you think about the machines that still burn fossil fuel.
Better batteries
The Rocky Mountain Institute recently released an amazing report on the 'clean tech revolution' - and showed that the predictions on the uptake of solar, wind and EVs have been a long way off for a very long time.
Now it’s released a report on the opportunity to develop a closed-loop or circular system for batteries, predicting that demand for mining will peak in 2030 and may not be needed by 2050 because of recycling schemes.
As it said: “Accelerated progress means we only need to mine a cumulative 125 million tons of battery minerals. This quantity alone can get us to circular battery self-sufficiency. That is 17 times smaller than the amount of oil we extract and process for road transport every year. And, at today’s commodity prices, about 20 times cheaper as well.”
We’re worried about waste in other areas of our life. But fossil fuel waste is one of the biggest forms of waste there is. You can recycle a battery, but there’s no way to recycle a combusted fuel. We need to ensure a responsible, ethical supply chain for batteries, but it is a much better option because we don’t need as much material to run our lives and livelihoods.
For more on the broader benefits of electrification, check out the first instalment of our new explainer series, Watt Now?
Upward mobility
There’s been a fair bit of discussion about dipping interest in EVs in New Zealand. But it’s more accurately described as a slight slowdown in the growth rate. The total numbers of full battery and plug-in hybrids continue to go up here and around the world, as these charts show.
It pays to remember that if you buy a fossil fuel car, it’s expected to last around 15 years as it flows through to the second-hand market. That’s 15 years of fuel (and probably more given New Zealand has one of the oldest car fleets among the OECD) that will be required to run it, and it is now more expensive and much more polluting than an EV.
With well over 100,000 cars with plugs now on New Zealand roads, vehicle prices dropping rapidly, new innovations launching and improving charging infrastructure like the country’s largest charging station at Tauranga Crossing (it can do ten cars at a time and also fits larger vehicles), the future of transport is increasingly electric.
And if you’re looking to take an EV across Africa, it could be worth considering some portable solar panels. A Dutch couple driving a tricked out Skoda EV managed to get 54% of the way on their epic journey by charging from the sun as they went. Now there's an upgrade to ask your dealer for!
All Quiet on the Eastern Front
We’ve heard from a few people who have recently visited China that there’s something very different about visiting now compared to just a few years ago: it’s quiet.
That’s because electric vehicles have taken over from the fossil fuel cars and the noisy, dirty two-strokes and, as The Atlantic wrote, China is getting all the good EVs - many of them small.
Micro-mobility is an often underappreciated opportunity for emissions reductions, and many countries in Asia have traditionally relied on smaller vehicles to navigate the city. They are able to be powered with electricity and are helping to reduce noise, costs and pollution, but there are also a number of larger machines now being powered by electricity that many thought would forever remain fossil fuel.
In this video, Micah Toll visited eight Chinese factories in eight days and got a glimpse at the what kind of machines that are being made.
User pays
One of the common misperceptions about New Zealand is that we have a high percentage of renewable energy. While we may have a high percentage of renewable electricity, coming in at around 80%, it only makes up a small part of our total energy system. And they are two very different things.
As this illustration shows, we’re reliant on fossil fuels for around 75% of our total energy and many of those fossil fuel machines - from the garden tools to the hot water heaters to the cars and light trucks - could be swapped for electric equivalents right now.
Another misperception is that we will need to replace all of those fossil fuels, but burning things is inefficient and that means we may actually only need to replace around one third of them because electric machines are so much more efficient. This video explains the concept of useful energy and the role that these much more efficient electric machines can play.
Burn, baby burn
Imagine a world where every machine is run on petrol or diesel? Nissan created that world for a Leaf commercial over a decade ago. It’s over the top, of course, but it does make you think about the fossil fuel machines that are still in our lives and how strange that is when there are cheaper, cleaner electric equivalents available right now.
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.