The case for energy loans: read our latest explainer
Newsroom journalist Marc Daalder, who was facilitating the discussion on the first day of the Electrify Queenstown conference, reports on the Government's active consideration of one of the most critical proposals in Rewiring Aotearoa's manifesto: electrification loans (and not just for solar) for everyone.
As he wrote:
A new policy manifesto from electrification advocacy group Rewiring Aotearoa has notched a success already, with Energy Minister Simon Watts confirming he’s open to adopting one of its most critical proposals.
Nearly 60 policies are included in Rewiring’s roadmap to electrifying New Zealand, with each ranked on a 1-10 scale from lower to higher impact. The organisation has found electrifying the 84 percent of fossil fuelled machines in New Zealand which are economically and technology viable to electrify could save Kiwis $29 million a day by 2040.
The only policy ranked a 10 is making electrification loans accessible to everyone – with a specific idea mooted to leverage the high-quality credit rating of councils to access low-interest finance from capital markets, without the debt ending up on council balance sheets.
Rewiring Aotearoa is in favour of universal Road User Charges as we believe it will address an artificial market distortion for vehicles that is not in New Zealand’s economic, fuel security, or resilience interests. Here's what we told the Select Committee.
Read moreDownloadThe story of Uruguay's renewable push and why it's relevant here; EVs reach a tipping point in the EU, but they're growing in developing nations, too; Tauranga Crossing and Endless Energy go vertical with a new solar install; new research shows panels keep on trucking far past their warranty periods; and if you need a hand getting out on the waves, how about getting your own electric towing machine.
Read moreDownloadOur Political Power series aims to show that going electric is good for everyone, no matter where you sit on the political sprectrum. Whether you're looking to lower costs, reduce emissions or increase resilience, it increasingly makes sense at an individual, community and country level and ACT's Todd Stephenson, who bought an electric Jeep around one year ago and built his new home in Queenstown to run on electrons, is a good example of that.
Read moreDownload