Money for nothing

The recent Government Policy Statement on electricity said that demand flexibility - where electricity consumption is reduced at times of high demand or moved to a different time - would play an increasingly important role in our energy system and new technologies allow us to do it more effectively. Large electricity users have been rewarded handsomely for reducing their use in the past because it is of value to the system when things are tight, but households have largely had to do it out of the goodness of their hearts. 

We're advocating for changes to the system that would level the playing field, but Octopus Energy decided to run its own trials with customers to see how much energy could be saved - and how much money could be made by those who reduced their use. 

Based on similar projects in the UK during the recent energy crunch, customers could voluntarily reduce their electricity use during a specific time (known as a Savings Session) and the results were impressive. 

We ran a total of nine saving sessions over the colder months, encouraging customers to reduce their consumption when the electricity grid was at peak stress. 20 percent of you participated, and you reduced your load by an average of 50% each session.

If we scaled this up to every household in New Zealand, it would equal a whopping 244,000 kWh. This would be the equivalent of 122,000 warm wash cycles, 3,050,000 kettle boils, and  would mean we could avoid switching on peaker gas plant for over 1 hour during peak stress times on the grid! Not only will this reduce demand on the grid during peak stress times, but it will help cut emissions allowing us to make the most of renewable energy when the sun’s shining and the wind’s blowing.

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While incentives to reduce use are important, so are incentives for storage. Batteries can play an important role here as they basically remove households from peak entirely and could also remove their neighbours from peak through exporting.

As we have written before, there is no magical difference between an electron saved and an electron exported and making batteries more 'bankable' with symmetrical export tariffs is also what we need.  

Like a bat out of hell

We often talk about the savings when it comes to electric machines and a lot of those savings come from their increased efficiency. But going electric is a big win-win because they often perform better than their fossil fuel equivalents. 

Electric vehicles provide some of the best evidence for this. Whether it’s drivers of large offroad vehicles or right-leaning 'Tesla cops' in the US, petrol and diesel-lovers often seem to be quickly converted when they test an EV and the YouTube series Coal Miners Driving Teslas is an entertaining example of how preconceived notions can be quickly overcome with a bit of personal experience.

While we obviously don't condone dangerous driving, there is no mistaking the joy (and surprise) that these drivers experience when they get behind the electric wheel. It shows clearly that driving an EV is not a sacrifice, as some seem to think. It is a substitution and it largely allows drivers to do the same (or better) things with lower costs and much less impact on the environment. As Matt says after planting his foot to the floor for the third time, 'I need one'. 

No smoke on the water

This same revelatory experience of electric machines can be seen on the water. We've covered the launch of Vessev's VS-9 already and spoken to CEO Eric Laakmann about the mission. The boat is a magnificent combination of brains and beauty and we absolutely loved this break up letter from Fullers 360 master Bevan Maguinness. 

The Electric Future

I love engines—steam, diesel, two-stroke, four-stroke, rotary, forced induction, gas-turbine. The sounds, the vibrations, the smell, the power; the way they're designed, manufactured, and work. I love it all. But are they all destined to fade away, ending up in enthusiasts’ sheds and museums?

Since childhood, I’ve been fascinated by engines. Any chance I got, I would interact with machines and learn about them. I saved up early on and, once I had enough, bought my first motorcycle. I rode it every chance I got, and when it broke down, I had to fix it myself. Today, I operate high-speed passenger ferries on Auckland’s Hauraki Gulf.

But there’s a problem. Some of the biggest safety, health, and wellbeing concerns for the crew and engineers aboard our older vessels stem from the very things I love about engines. The sound can be deafening, the vibrations exhausting, the temperatures searing, and the emissions overwhelming.

These hazards affect the crew constantly, leading to frequent complaints from both crew and passengers about the discomfort and health issues from exhaust fumes produced by my beloved internal combustion engines.

Recently, however, I had the privilege of riding what could be a world first: an electric, hydrofoiling tourism vessel out on Auckland’s Hauraki Gulf. Fully electric, it sails above the waves on dynamic hydrofoils, operating more like an aircraft than a traditional boat.

My biggest takeaway from this experience was the complete absence of the usual hazards associated with diesel engines. No vibration, no loud, hot machinery to check on, and most importantly, no emissions. It’s a huge win for crew health and comfort.

This vessel isn’t alone; more are on the horizon. Two hybrid-electric ferries and additional fully electric vessels are currently under construction for Auckland’s transport system, making the shift to electric-powered maritime transport inevitable.

Sustainable fuels might delay the decline of internal combustion engines, but a revolutionary shift in their widespread adoption hasn’t happened yet. While there’s still time left for me to enjoy the internal combustion engine, I know its era is passing.

Just as the oar, sail, and steam-driven vessels of the past gave way, so too will our diesel-powered vessels soon fade into history.

Stack ‘em high

Staying on the efficiency train, the IEA’s latest report Energy Technology Perspectives shows that renewables are "rapidly overtaking the fossil fuels pioneered in the 1800s, and which has already reduced global shipping needs — and emissions — by 10 per cent in a decade", as this story says.

One revealing graphic has been doing the rounds that shows how much electricity a single container ship could create. 

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A boat full of solar panels would produce around 100 times the energy of a boat laden with coal and 50 times the energy of an LNG tanker. There are obviously differences in the way this energy will be used, but these fossil fuels are single use and heavy on the emissions, whereas solar panels last for 30 or 40 years and can then be recycled. 

Around 40% of global seafreight is dedicated to transporting fossil fuels (that New Zealand homes and businesses spend around $40 million per day on), so electrifying a machine has an impact on upstream emissions. 

As Rewiring Aotearoa CEO Mike Casey wrote recently, a new LNG terminal is proposed for New Zealand and it may help get us through the next few years while all these new renewable projects are built and while the energy system adapts to more decentralised, and therefore more affordable, generation and storage. But we should not over-invest. The sooner we get off gas (and coal), the sooner New Zealanders will have lower bills because gas in all its forms - fossil gas, so-called ‘renewable’ gas, hydrogen, LPG, liquid natural gas (LNG) - is now more expensive than electrification. We may need gas in the short term to shore up our electricity system or for certain sectors, but gas in homes is particularly dumb - economically, environmentally and for health reasons - and should play no role in the future. 

Flying high

One of our favourite lines at Rewiring is that electrification is efficiency. Fossil fuel machines waste a lot of energy as heat, noise and vibration but electric machines use energy very efficiently. As a result, electric machines end up using a lot less energy overall to do the same things.

A good example of this in practice is Bertrand Piccard. Like many entrepreneurs and problem solvers, he was told a solar powered plane wouldn’t work and that it was impossible. But he and his team, working in a shipyard rather than with the aviation sector, have proven it can be done. 

This video tells the story of the ‘genius solar plane that can fly forever’. 

Funny business

Humour is not something generally associated with climate change. The dire reports about the state of the environment and the increasingly dangerous weather events we’re seeing are no laughing matter. But the continued doomerism and negativity often starts to wash over people, or make them feel like there's no hope. So is humour a better way to get the message across? 

Adam McKay was the director responsible for the movie Don’t Look Up and his outfit Yellow Dot Studios is doing some entertaining and educational work explaining how the world got into this mess. In a recent clip, Rainn Wilson unsuccessfully pleads with the powers that be to heed his calls.

And for those who like a bit more public shaming with their climate comedy, then you’ll probably enjoy Ogilvyland, a 'fossil fuel funfair' that aims to draw attention to the world’s most fossil fuel-aligned advertising network, Ogilvy.

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