Operation Laser Kiwi: help us take New Zealand-made energy on the road
"Climate action is no longer a cost. Climate action is profitable." On Azoora Ali's podcast Care Before Profits, Mike Casey explained how a large upfront investment in electric machines, solar and batteries is now paying off because he is able to run his cherry orchard more cheaply than a diesel-based equivalent.
The same theory applies at home, as our Electric Homes and Vehicles report shows clearly.
Many more businesses are following Casey's lead, taking energy into their own hands and gaining a competitive advantage.
And our decision makers are starting to recognise that access to finance to get past the higher upfront costs is a crucial part of the equation.
New Zealand is in a great position to take advantage of our existing renewable resources and double down on local electrons. It wins on economics, it wins on energy security and it wins on emissions. So what are we waiting for?
Australia reaches a milestone in August, with more new electric cars sold than petrol cars; another new study shows EV batteries last longer than the myths have made out; Heart Aerospace sends the world's heaviest electric plane skywards; China's massive mining machine hits the dirt; and we've fully embraced heat pumps to warm the air, now they're coming for our water.
Read moreDownloadNew Zealand spends about as much on petrol and diesel as it earns exporting concentrated milk. Mike Casey says that money leaves the country, and most of it does not have to. He runs a cherry orchard in Central Otago on 21 electric machines, and a $50,000 diesel bill became a $25,000 revenue stream before financing costs. What I Asked Mike👉 How much money does New Zealand lose every year buying fuel from offshore?👉 What did it actually cost to electrify 21 machines?👉 What is the real payback period, machine by machine?👉 What can you do if you lease your building and cannot touch the roof?👉 Who should not do this?
Read moreDownloadA pinch and a punch (and a big bunch of new EVs) for the first of the month. The Rewiring gang is always pretty jazzed about the release of the new car sales numbers each month and, while the short-term stats tend to bounce around a bit, the long-term trend is clear: sales of new EVs are up by 150% year to date and sales of new petrol vehicles are down by 15% in the same period.
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