The case for energy loans: read our latest explainer
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An indepth investigation from RNZ's Kirsty Johnston shows that rooftop solar incentives were looked at closely by the Government last year and then nixed, with only small changes announced. But there's still time to get the Ratepayer Assistance Scheme through and ramp up adoption rates.
As Rewiring CEO Mike Caseysaid, "putting rooftop solar on a household in New Zealand substantially lowers electricity bills. Yet what we've seen time and time again is we've kind of left the energy system up to its own devices - but electricity bills just continue to go up".
"That's why I think it's super important we now look at making sure that if it's not going to come from industry because it's not necessarily in their best interests, well, then it really needs to come from central government."
Stats NZ figures show household energy costs have risen by 173% since 2001, despite plenty of 'downward pressure on prices'. The cost of communications has declined by 30% in the same time, which is what technological advancement is meant to do to prices.
Energy Minister Simon Watts told RNZ that he was "focussed on making energy more affordable ... I acknowledge the valuable role that solar and batteries can play in New Zealand's energy system."
We believe Energy Impact Loans through the Ratepayer Assistance Scheme, which would allow households to finance solar and other electric machines over the long-term at low interest rates, will significantly increase adoption and could save gas-dependent homes around $2,000 per year. The Government has a chance to make that happen by adding it to the Infrastructure Funding and Financing Bill, which we have submitted on and will talk to in the Select Committee process this week.
And while subsidies aren't needed to make solar economic, the Australian example shows that if you want to roll things out very quickly and help create economic activity, incentives can play a big role. We hope to see a few of them being offered at the electric election in November.
"We've lost the cops!" In our next instalment of Political Power, we managed to get David Seymour, deputy prime minister and leader of the Act Party, behind the wheel of a Zeekr 7x when he was in Queenstown recently. As is often the case when people take a new EV for a spin, there was much chortling as he gave it heaps up the Remarkables ski field road - and, if we take him at his word, we might even see him give Mike Casey's tractor heaps up Parliament steps in the future.
Read moreDownloadEVs are having a moment right now, so how can we get more people driving electric; Tom Selleck sums up how EV owners are feeling right now and staggering analysis shows the sun's prices have been unaffected by decades of geopolitical conflict; Scion goes solar to get off gas, while dairy farmers and homes go with solar and batteries to keep going; Saul Griffith takes his solar-powered scooter to Canberra and starts a fight with regulators; the Cancer Society's Lions Lodge in Hamilton gets some panels donated and will save $17,000 a year; and killing the Friday vibe with new studies on how fossil fuel companies made massive profits after the last energy crisis in 2022 and carbon emissions making our blood boil - perhaps quite literally.
Read moreDownloadAn electrification advocate says the rising price and falling supply of gas may not be a bad thing in the long-term. PwC research —commissioned by Gas Industry Co— has found New Zealand's gas market will need to shrink sharply as domestic supply declines. It warns this could mean business closures, job losses, and higher energy costs.