Operation Laser Kiwi: help us take New Zealand-made energy on the road
We sit down with Rewiring Aotearoa's Mike Casey for a wide-ranging conversation about one of the biggest costs facing New Zealanders: energy. We get into power and petrol, and ask what can politicians actually do to make your power bill and petrol bill cheaper? We talk about the practical policy changes that could make a difference, what’s getting in the way, and whether politicians are making energy more complicated than it needs to be.
Mike isn’t a politician, and that’s part of what makes his perspective so refreshing. He has a genuine focus on policies that actually work for New Zealanders — and he’s not afraid to give credit where it’s due or call out bad ideas, regardless of which side of the political spectrum they come from.
In a political world that can sometimes feel very tribal, it’s refreshing to hear someone who can see both the good and the bad in parties across the political spectrum.
A practical conversation about energy, politics and, ultimately, how we can make some of the biggest household bills a little cheaper.
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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