'This car can...' Check out our new campaign
Ensuring more electric vehicles can run on New Zealand-made energy needs to be seen as an issue of national security and dual fuel peakers that can run on gas or diesel can help solve the dry year issue while also improving diesel storage, unlike the LNG import terminal.
Right now, diesel prices are ramping up and some are worried we won't have enough supply to keep the economy going. We have a set amount of fuel storage in New Zealand, but if we had more EVs in the fleet we would need less of that for petrol and could devote more of it to diesel. While the majority of light vehicle fuel consumption is petrol, 1/3 is still diesel from most of our utes and vans, so electrifying these light commercial vehicles would also significantly reduce our current diesel demand. Taking both together - the reduced diesel demand from easier-to-electrify light vehicles, and the increased storage capacity from reduced petrol demand - we'd increase our diesel storage capacity significantly for our harder-to-electrify sectors.
If all our light transport fleet was electrified, it would equate to 37.5 days of diesel storage.
If one third of our fleet was electric, as it is in Norway following a decade's worth of policy support, that would give us an additional eight days of storage.
At our current rate of EV adoption, with just 2% of the fleet electric, we have just 0.5 days.
Fuel security is also relevant when it comes to the decision to build an LNG import terminal. The primary reason it has been suggested is to solve the dry year issue - although it is also clearly about keeping gas users hooked and letting the gas industry play for time. But our portfolio approach can kill two birds with one stone.
Along with rapid build out of large-scale renewables, mass adoption of rooftop solar and batteries on homes, farms and businesses to keep our hydro lakes full, and assistance for gas users to electrify, we also believe we should invest in dual fuel peakers that can run on gas or diesel and offer added diesel storage.
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Rather than an investment of $1-$2.7 billion into LNG for no added fuel security, an investment of around $400-$800 million could add 120 million litres of additional fuel storage (11-12 days). This would come at a much lower fixed cost than the LNG terminal but at a higher fuel cost and it would still push electricity prices down in the same way by removing the cost of dry year risk in electricity bills. And if we build those renewables quickly enough, we may not need to use it.
There are a lot more New Zealanders looking for EVs right now as concerns about the price and availability of fuel rises. But many of them are new to the scene. Here are some things to consider to ensure you get the right EV for your needs.
Read moreDownloadThere’s a lot of talk about what electric vehicles can’t do and plenty of myths and misperceptions that might stop people from upgrading. But the people who actually own EVs? They’re overwhelmingly sold and recent research showed that 96% of EV owners would buy another one. That's why we're launching 'This Car Can...' We want to tap into that electric enthusiasm and convince more New Zealanders who may be on the fence to start running on cheap local electrons rather than on expensive imported foreign molecules.
EV owners love all the things their cars can do - and they can do a lot of different things these days. So we're asking them to share a story about their EV experience, upload a photo and tell us what their car can do, or send in a video.
We'll add them to the campaign page and we'll use the best ones on socials and in our advocacy to show how lots of different New Zealanders are benefitting from EVs in their lives.
We've also compiled a whole heap of information on why we love EVs - from the savings to the speed off the mark and everything inbetween.
Get in behind!