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.
Compared to most of our MPs, Scott Willis is a very early adopter. As the latest episode of our 'Political Power' series shows, the Green MP's home in Waitati has had solar panels on the roof since 2013 and he bought a Nissan Leaf in 2016. He runs a full suite of electric gardening gear - which can often be a powerful gateway drug after people see how well they perform - and recently upgraded to a BYD Atto3 with a 60kwH battery.
Read moreDownload“People come up and ask, ‘Are you bribing politicians?’ And my answer to that is, well, I’m bribing them all equally,” he said. Each box was worth close to $90. But Mike said the cherries were less about currying favour and more about opening a cross-party conversation on electrification. “I want it to not be a political hot potato, because I genuinely believe, no matter what side of politics you’re on, electrification is good for the country. From an energy sovereignty, an energy security, an economic and a climate perspective, everybody wins.”
Read moreDownloadAround 150,000 new vehicles are purchased every year in New Zealand and around 60% of them are bought by businesses. We reckon a lot more of them should be electric - both for the benefit of those companies but also to seed the second-hand market - and that could be on the cards now because one of the major barriers to fleet EV uptake has been removed.
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