The case for energy loans: read our latest explainer
Mike Casey talks to Ben Chapman-Smith about how Kiwi farmers can get started on their electric journey and move away from diesel-driven machinery, while also outlining a few requests for Minister of Agriculture Todd McClay that would make on-farm solar even more beneficial.
Our guest in this episode is Mike Casey, CEO of Rewiring Aotearoa, who’s here to talk about the huge opportunities for New Zealand farmers to save money and reduce emissions by electrifying their farms.
Mike's seen these opportunities first-hand. He’s the founder of Forest Lodge Orchard, growing cherries with only renewable electricity. He’s installed solar panels and batteries, and electrified all the machines on his farm, showing how the move away from diesel can save tens of thousands each year and significantly lower emissions.
He’s now on a mission to show that what he’s done on his property is possible for other farmers too.
Hear Mike explain how Kiwi farmers can get started on their electric journey, with practical advice for how to install solar and move away from diesel-driven machinery.
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.
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