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A new electric dumper in Wellington and new electric buses in Christchurch, an energy hardship project with real world data, a novel scheme in some US resort towns that makes up for outdoor energy use, Rivian's very appealing new charging outpost and easily the best love song we've ever heard.

Earning a place on this week's electrification podium, Auckland's new electric bus hub (and Palmerston North's big electric bus investment), Germany's new law enshrining solar rights and how tenants can benefit from publicly-owned panels in Zurich, an Australian experiment shows how EVs could play a role during grid emergencies (and why we need smart charging to reduce stress on the grid), and the inside story of New York's first all-electric skyscraper.

IDTechEx’s new report Battery Markets in Construction, Agriculture and Mining (CAM) Machines 2024-2034 shows CAM machines require a diverse range of battery solutions to cater to their individual needs, especially in agriculture such as tractors. Senior technology analyst Dr James Jeffs has looked at the different use cases and where they work best and the report shows battery demand for off-highway industries will be worth $8 billion by 2034. Rewiring Aotearoa chief executive Mike Casey gets a mention after his orchard introduced the Monarch electric tractor to the country, where it performs well for low-energy tasks like mowing.

The cup runneth over with good electrification news and this week's selection features EVs becoming cheaper than fossil cars in China, a promising peer-to-peer electricity sharing scheme on Aotea / Great Barrier Island, massive growth in renewable generation (and massive opportunity for New Zealand to become the Saudi Arabia of renewable electricity), Energy Mad reaches a milestone, and a special electric toy for the snow lovers.

"Mike Casey is a 'nerd' (of his own admission) in the world of electrification, he's blazing the trial right out front showing the rest of us what can be done and he's then very kindly sharing all his knowledge so we can learn and uptake as it suits our businesses. This is an exciting conversation that really ignited the flame of opportunity and how farming can be a solution to the country's energy issues!"

“What I get a lot is people talk about electric vehicles and what they say with electric vehicles is that they’re great for people in the city, but they’re not great for the people in the country,” Casey told the 2024 National Renewables in Agriculture Conference in Queensland. “And I always have to remind them that that couldn’t actually be further from the truth. Literally, the more [kilometres] you drive, the better off you are driving an electric vehicle ... If charging purely from the grid it costs us around $9 for a full charge, however with our solar and battery array we are expecting the cost to be closer to $2 a charge and are currently collecting the data to verify this ... One of the most remarkable things we now see in New Zealand is the number of farmers that are adopting electric vehicles because they’re starting to realise that per kilometre cost [of fuelling them is] significantly less than [petrol or diesel]."

It's pretty rare for someone to be invited back to the E Tipu Agri Summit two years in a row, but Mike Casey has plenty to talk about. Rewiring Aotearoa's Electric Farms paper proved there are similar benefits for the rural sector if we can turn farms into power plants and, as he says - and as he has shown on his own cherry orchard - New Zealand’s farmers could reduce their operational costs by going electric and generating a lot of their own electricity through mid-scale solar and battery systems. And they can also make money by feeding electricity back into the grid at times of high demand. “Whether in the home or on the farm, electrification is a real win-win. It’s not just the right environmental decision anymore, it’s the right economic decision. It’s a no-brainer. We just have to figure out how to make it easy.”

Queenstown, Wānaka and the surrounding region have committed to one of the world’s most ambitious climate targets and pledged to create a carbon-zero visitor economy by 2030. It’s great to have a bold target to aim for but, as renowned electricity lover Thomas Edison said, vision without execution is just hallucination – and right now, the region is a long way off track and lagging behind a number of other places. So how can the region go from talking to walking? It basically all boils down to this: everything that can be electrified needs to be electrified - and quickly. Read Mike Casey's full opinion piece on Newsroom.

Another great piece from RNZ's Eloise Gibson about our mixed rankings in the global EV charging stakes and the need to lift our game as EVs become more popular (globally, nearly one in five cars sold in 2023 was electric, a 35 percent year-on-year increase). The government promised 10,000 more public chargers by 2030 and $257 million in funding has been allocated to that goal. At this stage, it's not clear where that money will be spent, but one option that isn't explored in the story is the potential to make use of our 50,000 farms. Farmers investing in mid-scale solar and battery systems could not only power their own machines much more affordably and earn money for sending electricity back to the grid at peak times, but they could also become part of an extensive national charging network and create another new revenue stream. Farms are usually very close to the medium voltage networks, meaning they can scale up renewable systems without physical constraints or undue overloading risks to the distribution networks.

On this week's e-highlight reel, electricity generating windows from across the Tasman, the role community-owned microgrids can play in regional areas, the rise of electric boats, and how heat pumps save money and reduce emissions.

Across the world, farmers and machinery producers are stepping up to the challenge of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by electrifying essential equipment and exploring alternative fuels ... In New Zeland's Otago, cherry producer Mike Casey has been running a 6-hectare orchard without using any fossil fuels. Last year, it produced 80 tonnes of cherries for local and export markets. His fleet of 21 electric machines includes prototypes and traditional vehicles that have been converted to electric. "I never envisioned us going fully electric; I was just sort of thinking there will be some things that we can do to cut out diesel and cut our emissions," he said. "But what actually happened is we discovered we'd save about $40,000 a year of energy costs on our farm."

New Zealand is going to need a lot more electricity as homes and businesses swap out fossil fuel machines for much more efficient electric versions. MBIE has just released a report showing a range of different scenarios and under favourable economic conditions the demand for electricity could rise by 81 percent by 2050. Where we get all that extra electricity from is an important strategic question for New Zealand and the report says wind and solar will be the "least cost" way to meet this demand. At Rewiring Aotearoa, we believe a lot of the extra electricity we need could come from rooftop solar and because it is produced where it is used it is the cheapest form of delivered electricity New Zealanders can get. Batteries are also dropping in price and rooftop solar and battery combinations can reduce peak loads while saving on energy bills. This is vital context for how we choose to build out the energy system to be low cost and highly resilient.

On this week's electrification highlight reel, Contact Energy's new grid-scale battery project with Tesla, how the really big machine manufacturers are going electric, solar power reaches a big audience - and a big milestone - and a succinct summary of the efficiency of electric machines.

New Zealanders sometimes need endorsement from overseas before we realise we've got something special and the Aussies seem to be picking up up what Mike Casey is putting down. Following a keynote presentation at an agricultural conference in Perth, ABC's RN Drive show spoke to Mike about his all-electric orchard.

The Guardian Australia's Aston Brown looks at the promise of electric technology in the agricultural sector as well as some of the existing barriers to update and talks to Mike Casey about the opportunities that already exist in horticulture and viticulture. He also talks to Terry Krieg, the co-founder of Linttas Electric Company, who is developing a semi-autonomous combine harvester that claims to reduce fuel use by a third. But it's not just about reducing carbon emissions and costs, says Prof. Ray Willis, managing director of Future Smart Strategies. “It’s about redesigning the vehicle for the first time in 100 years. If you make it electric, inevitably it turns out to be better, more durable, more reliable.”

Rewiring Aotearoa CEO Mike Casey was invited to be the keynote speaker at AgZero 2030 conference in Perth recently, where he spoke about the opportunity in front of Australian farmers to do as he has done and electrify the machines on their farms and produce as much of the energy required to run them via rooftop solar - with battery storage offering another potential revenue stream. Not only does this save farmers money, it drastically reduces emissions through diesel use and, as the Countryman reported Casey as saying, "when everyone is winning, you don't need to fight".

The Otago Daily Times and The South Today covered the inaugural Electrify Queenstown conference at Millbrook Resort yesterday. Destination Queenstown chief executive Mat Woods said the event was to show "the benefits of electrification, and what businesses can electrify such as vehicles, heating and cooking methods" and there was a huge amount of interest from the business community. "It was important to build an understanding that when things need to be replaced, replacing them with electric alternatives are not only better for the planet, but can also be cheaper, and more reliable ... Realistically we expected 50 people to turn up, but we had to cap attendance for the morning’s panel at 150 people." Rewiring Aotearoa's Mike Casey was the keynote speaker, and his electric tractor even provided heating for the tradeshow in the marquee.

Rewiring Aotearoa was proud to be part of the inaugural Electrifying Queenstown event at Millbrook alongside more than 150 members of the local business community. DQ boss Mat Woods told Mountain Scene the idea for the event was sparked by the Electric Homes report about New Zealand becoming one of the first countries in the world to reach the ‘‘tipping point’’ and there's a positive peer pressure in the Southern Lakes air as the region attempts to create a carbon zero visitor economy by 2030. To reach that goal it will have to, as Mike Casey said at the event, electrify everything that can be electrified - and quickly. As Kinloch Wilderness Lodge's Toni Glover said, the best way to do that is 'just start'. Kudos to Destination Queenstown, the Queenstown Business Chamber and Aurora for making it happen. We'd love to see more events like this right across the country so we can share the economic and environmental opportunities of electrification to more Kiwi businesses. Where next?

This week on our electrification compendium, the country's coolest coffee delivery van, potentially the country's coolest truck, a new report with lots of amazing graphs on the transition to clean energy, how EVs should be seen as batteries on wheels and Climate Town's explanation of the dirty tricks the gas industry has used to keep us hooked up.

Consumer NZ's Powerswitch has been a great resource for customers looking to save money by changing providers. But the latest issue of its magazine is focused on the money (and emissions) Kiwis can save if they change their energy source from fossil fuels to electricity - and how there are even more savings on the table if you invest in solar panels. Consumer used a lot of the data created in Rewiring Aotearoa and EECA's Electric Homes report, and there are some handy tips in there for anyone thinking about upgrading their gas appliances or petrol vehicles.

Rewiring Aotearoa's Mike Casey has plenty of fans, but the electric ones on his orchard are definitely the biggest. EECA's Technology Demonstration Fund helped Forest Lodge import and install two electric frost fighting fans in 2020 and, as the case study says, "the company has saved thousands on energy bills and significantly reduced its carbon emissions. These successes have been achieved without sacrificing frost-fighting performance". You might not need your own frost fighting fans, but electric equivalents - from hot water heat pumps to electric vehicles - are now cheaper to run and better for the environment.

Jamie Mackay, who was recently made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to broadcasting and the rural community, says he has "a special thing going" with Rewiring Aotearoa CEO Mike Casey and admires the way he's driving innovation in the rural sector. Direct from Fieldays, he speaks with Casey about the practicalities of electric machines on different farms, and the new hybrid (and, soon enough, electric) utes.

From Fieldays, Rural Exchange speaks with Mike Casey about his presentation to kiwifruit growers at the Zespri tent ("it's all about how we save $40,000 a year on energy costs"), and how his orchard is showing other farmers what's possible.

Rural Roundup's Andy Thompson reminisces about his recent trip to Forest Lodge where he powered his radio station with the electric tractor, how to the reduce input costs through electrification and why solar is a gateway drug for more electric machines. "Farms are businesses and people run businesses in different ways. The whole idea is to show them what I've done and they can choose whether or not they want to adopt them. It's their business."

Electrification is our jam at Rewiring Aotearoa. And Electric Avenue is where we spread it. This week, reducing costs and connecting the community through solar panels and batteries at marae, the electrification excitement brewing in the rural sector, why solar roofs might take over from solar panels, how your first EV could be the last car you ever need, and how the best new car could be an old car.

Speaking from Fieldays, one of the country's biggest agricultural shindigs, Mike Casey speaks with RNZ's Charlotte Ryan about the excitement he's seeing from farmers about the benefits of electrification, the difference between solar on farms and solar farms, and the notoriety that comes from being on Country Calendar.

Rewiring Aotearoa's Mike Casey writes in Newsroom about the Commerce Commission's recent draft decision on how much the electricity distribution businesses can spend in the next few years. "This $1.3 billion saving is actually a win for consumers and a step in the right direction for the energy sector. While the bills are still going up by 74 percent over the next five years, they’re not going up by as much as they could have. And if the rules change, households, farms and businesses with solar and batteries can reduce their energy bills even further."

RNZ's Eloise Gibson has taken another look at the energy sector and found there are lessons to be learned from Australia, where around one third of homes have rooftop solar. In New Zealand, the number is a lot lower, but it's growing quickly and that's largely because it makes economic sense over the long term, especially if you've electrified your appliances and vehicles. Batteries and solar combos are also becoming more common and every home with a battery basically removes themselves from the peak period. "But Mike Casey of clean energy charity Rewiring Aotearoa said battery prices were falling quickly, and combined solar and battery systems were now the cheapest source of energy available to households - even including the upfront cost of buying the equipment ... Casey said if households had better access to low-cost loans, they could buy household batteries themselves and take pressure off electricity generators by using their own power in times of shortage. They could also sell their surplus to others, taking more pressure off the grid when supply is tight."

Drive Electric's board chair Kristen Corson outlines in Newsroom how new EVs and smart technology can do much more than just get us from A to B and could instead play a role in the energy system. As she says: "Next time you consider the potential of an EV in your garage, reframe it as a battery on wheels that can power your house and your business. This perspective reveals a whole new set of benefits beyond that of a car."

Rewiring Aotearoa's CEO Mike Casey explains the thinking behind a recent Commerce Commission decision, the gap it opens up for customer generation, storage and smart demand management technology, and the role the Electricity Authority needs to play to speed up adoption.

Welcome to the first instalment of our weekly trip down Electric Avenue, where the Rewiring Aotearoa team shares the good, the bad and the ugly (but mostly the good) from the world of electrification.

Rakiura / Stewart Island faces the highest electricity prices in New Zealand. Successive governments have funded report after report and numerous fly-in visits by Ministers have failed to change this situation for the local community. Rewiring Aotearoa believes the opportunity is to harness existing solar and battery technology to deliver significant cost-of-living savings and reduced emissions at scale via electrification on Stewart Island right now. With financed solar and batteries, electricity usage costs for residents could be halved without delay. Rewiring Aotearoa has been engaging with the local community, who have been sending us their power bills. On Saturday 27th April some of the Rewiring team visited Stewart Island (including Mike Rewi who has strong whakapapa to Stewart Island). What we are hearing from this community is many locals fear the proposals and the likely “preferred option” will be focused on replacing current diesel generators, not on reducing the cost of energy for consumers. Our proposal outlines Rewiring Aotearoa’s pitch for an alternative approach to develop a community-led energy solution for the Island.

RNZ's Eloise Gibson looked into the question of whether gas or electric appliances are cheaper and the evidence, as outlined in Rewiring Aotearoa's Electric Homes report, is pretty clear: even with the upfront costs of replacement and finance, running electric hot water, electric heating and electric cooking is much cheaper - and less toxic - than using fossil gas and it's cheaper still if you've got rooftop solar and batteries. It makes no economic sense for new homes to connect to gas in New Zealand and if your old gas appliance breaks down, it pays to make your next purchasing electric. "Compared with using piped gas heating, hot water, and cooking, a fully electric home could save almost $11,000 over 15 years for upfront costs and energy bills, the study found. Compared with using bottled LPG for heating, hot water, and cooking, a fully electric home could save almost $20,000 over the same period."

"Mike is probably the most public face for advocating for decarbonisation through electrification in New Zealand, and someone who is demonstrating outstanding leadership."

New Zealand farmers are renowned for their ability to produce things like lamb, beef and dairy, but there's a new product they're moving into: renewable electricity. A new report by energy transition charity Rewiring Aotearoa says the benefits to farmers of installing solar and battery systems include cheaper power, resilience to outages and being able to make money from selling electricity back to the grid. Maniatoto farmer Becks Smith said installing solar to power her irrigation systems is the logical next step for the farm business. "We're actually really good at producing off solar power, that's what we do with our grass every day," she told Newshub. Smith is planning to install solar to generate electricity on farm to run her irrigation pumps during summer, while in winter when the pump is turned off, she can still generate electricity and sell it back to the grid. She said it improves business and community resilience. "Farms have the opportunity to be local electricity hubs to supply into local networks. Should the infrastructure be damaged in a natural disaster, we have the ability to support our communities."

Queenstown Lakes’ commitment to a carbon-zero visitor economy will be brought to life for business owners and tourism operators at the region’s inaugural Electrifying Queenstown business summit next month. A collaboration between Destination Queenstown and Queenstown Business Chamber of Commerce, the initiative is powered by Aurora Energy, inviting local businesses to unlock the economic benefits of electrification, saving on costs and growing their business while decarbonising. "One of the most effective ways to decarbonise is by going electric. We’re excited to have experts joining Electrifying Queenstown to share knowledge and practical ideas to support the tourism and business community to shift to a sustainable future,” says Destination Queenstown Chief Executive Mat Woods.

What if you could arrange a half-day in the debating chamber when I could bring a group we’re calling the “Coalition of the Willing” to share constructive, economic solutions around the opportunities climate change and sustainability offer to Aotearoa New Zealand? Opportunities that could significantly lift our GDP, reduce billion-dollar infrastructure costs, create high-value jobs and maximise returns from our forestry and geothermal assets. 1. ReWiring Aotearoa (Mike Casey and team): Current strategy involves spending billions on infrastructure to move electricity from fast-tracked wind and solar farms, potentially doubling household costs. Casey’s fossil-fuel free, fully electric orchard in Central Otago shows how rooftop solar panels and batteries can deliver power directly to homes and businesses at a fraction of the cost, building energy resilience. The importance of this was highlighted this month. As we faced those potential power cuts, Casey’s farm actually delivered excess electricity back to the grid. While the farm uses 900 per cent more electricity than before it was electrified, most of that is self-generated or stored off the grid during off-peak times. Electricity is sold back during peak times. The annual saving on diesel is $40,000 a year. Imagine every farm in the country working like that.

Listen to Rewiring Aotearoa CEO Mike Casey speak about the Electric Farms paper from 4.38.

The New Zealand Green Building Council's new report 'Closing the Gap' shows that improving buildings could save New Zealand almost $40 billion and slash emissions. "Improving the standard of new buildings and electrification are no-brainers. The sooner we get started, the more emissions we’ll avoid and the more money Kiwis, businesses and farmers will save," says Rewiring Aotearoa CEO Mike Casey. Andrew Eagles, NZGBC chief executive says: "As New Zealand is bound by law and international trade agreements to reduce our emissions in line with the Paris Agreement, our buildings are a key lever." Actions explored in the report include: Staggered improvements to the building code, requiring new buildings to measuring operational and upfront carbon emissions at consenting stage from 2025, a 20% reduction in both upfront and operational emissions by 2028, 40% reduction in upfront carbon emissions and near zero energy in operation by 20230, and a 60% reduction in upfront carbon emissions and near zero energy in operation by 2034. Require all homes put up for sale or rent to have an Energy Performance Certificates by 2028, and all office buildings over 1,000sqm put up for sale or lease to have a NABERSNZ certificate from 2026. Phase out of fossil gas in homes and commercial buildings. Suggested actions include expand the Warmer Kiwi Homes programme to subsidise electrification of home heating from 2027, converting 25,000 homes a year. End new residential fossil gas connections from 2026. Implement a concerted programme, building on the successful replacement of coal boilers in schools and hospitals, to subsidise 10% of commercial buildings per year from 2026 to electrify.

[At 2 mins] Meanwhile plenty of Kiwis are taking energy security into their own hands, like retired chartered accountant Mike Campbell, who's moving into a retirement village where he's installed solar panels [and a battery]. "I'm producing more energy than I can actually use, even though I've got an electric car, and it goes off to the grid and it feeds somebody else." He would love to see the Government help young people install solar and battery systems. "They can help young people to reduce their power bills by a lot of money."

Yesterday I spoke to Rewiring Aotearoa CEO Mike Casey and Octopus Energy NZ Chief Operating Officer Margaret Cooney about the current state of our electricity market and what could be done to fix it. Casey talked about how he earned extra money by exporting power into the grid at sky-high prices from the solar panels and batteries he installed to fully electrify his cherry orchard in Cromwell. Cooney talked about how Octopus Energy UK pays customers to reduce demand and uses automation to match supply and demand. She also talks about a way to make the market more competitive and viable for independent retailers buying from the wholesale market.

A comprehensive new research report released by EECA (the Energy Efficiency & Conservation Authority) unpacks where Kiwi homeowners are at with household electrification, identifying the opportunity when it comes to energy use, emissions, and running costs. The research finds over a third of key appliances (36%) in use – for cooking, heating spaces, and heating water – are over a decade old. The average for vehicles (including EVs) is even older at 14.9 years. Among those surveyed, ‘end of life’ of the current appliance was by far the main reason consumers will invest in new, with 75% of people saying this was a key motivator for them.

For a country that trades on its green brand and reputation as a trustworthy international counterpart, there is no realistic alternative but to follow through on our climate commitments. Failure to do so would have serious financial risks ... The size of this country’s NDC liability in future years will depend on how much action is taken domestically. Every extra tonne that we can reduce at a reasonable cost is one that we will not need to purchase offshore. All of this helps make the case for investment in ambitious initiatives such as accelerated electrification proposed by Rewiring Aotearoa and Recloaking Papatūānuku.

Andy broadcasted his show today LIVE from the World's First 100% Electric, Zero Fossil Fuel Orchard, with all the broadcast equipment powered by Monarch Tractor, the world's first fully electric tractor. Mike Casey, the man behind Forest Lodge Orchard, spoke about the reality of running such an enterprise and how others can follow suit.

Bucking a common misconception, New Zealanders no longer say recycling is the most effective action they can take to reduce climate pollution ... A recent study from Rewiring Aotearoa, which didn’t attempt to measure consumer sentiment towards climate-friendly actions but did examine the benefits from electrifying homes, found New Zealanders can now save between $1400 and $4700 a year by fully decarbonising their households. This makes New Zealand one of the first countries in the world to reach a “tipping point” where electrifying households is now cheaper than relying on fossil fuels. “If we use more affordable, locally produced electricity – both from our highly renewable grid and through more customer generation – to run our much more efficient electric machines, households and businesses will save money, our energy system will be stronger and more resistant to shocks, the country’s balance of payments will be billions better off because we won’t need to import as many expensive fossil fuels, and our carbon emissions will shrink,” the report found.

Electrifying your household appliances - which in most cases means ditching a gas cooktop, gas heating and hot water - can save the average household more than $1000 per year, according to data modelling recently commissioned by the Energy Efficiency Conservation Authority [and Rewiring Aotearoa]. The study also found annual running cost and lifetime-cost gains from solar and swapping out a petrol or diesel vehicle for an EV - at least if you use cheaper charging at home rather than pricey public chargers, even allowing for impending road user chargers.

Mike Casey likes to call himself an “electric cherry orchardist from New Zealand"... Casey argues that rooftop solar was the gateway that enabled him to electrify his entire orchard. “It’s so significantly cheaper than a litre of diesel that it would just make absolutely no sense to buy another diesel machine once you are taking advantage of your rooftop solar.”

In the next year alone, over half a million purchase decisions will be made by New Zealanders on household appliances and vehicles, and this pattern is expected to continue. To help New Zealanders make informed decisions when they are in the market, EECA has unpacked the yearly lifetime saving opportunities - across energy, emissions and household bills, that can be achieved through choosing the most efficient, electric options. As a snapshot of running costs alone - New Zealanders could save around $1,000+ per year in energy costs. When upfront costs are included, this could save $10,000-$20,000 over a 15-year appliance lifetime. Every household is different, but the data says that for most - it pays to go electric.

Every Sunday night I sit down with my family – and about half a million other New Zealanders – to watch Country Calendar. It’s a love letter to the land and an ode to innovation and I’m always inspired by the resourceful rural folk coming up with clever ways to keep the coffers full. That is becoming increasingly difficult, however. Farmers are battling economic headwinds, global competition, synthetic substitutes and expensive – some might argue excessive – compliance, so anything that can save or make them money is about as rare as a hen’s tooth. But there is something that could potentially achieve both of those things: electricity ... The No 8 wire mentality is part of our national mythology. Early generations of farmers had to learn to be self-sufficient and make the most of the resources they had around them. What farmers have around them now is plenty of land, lots of sun and increasing demand for renewable electricity. Using and creating more electricity on NZ’s farms is in everyone’s economic and environmental interests, so let’s take a leaf out of Bill Gallagher’s book and make that No 8 wire electric.

This Government promised relief from the rising cost of living. If it looked at the electricity sector, it might see some solutions staring them right in the face.

Overall, we encourage the Commission to think beyond competition merely as a driver for innovation, to consider the outcomes from innovation for the long term benefit for New Zealanders. Rewiring Aotearoa believes one such outcome from market innovation is supporting the electrification opportunity for Aotearoa New Zealand. The Commission has the opportunity to play an active role in driving this not just through the energy market, but also through the personal banking market. It is important that these functions are not seen in isolation, but as a system, to better realise the Commission's role in delivering on NZ’s emissions reduction plan, and 2050 Nationally Determined Contribution.

Forest Lodge Orchard has taken out the Norwood Farming Efficiency Award and the NZFET Innovation Award at the Otago Farm Environment Awards. "Technology and sustainability are the hallmarks of this Cromwell orchard that has grown its harvest exponentially since being developed from bare ground in 2019 ... Right from the start, owners ​​Mike and Rebecca Casey, and Euan and Rachel White have been striving to electrify all orchard methods and equipment – a goal they have achieved. They have an electric tractor, have electrified the orchard’s irrigation pump, i​nstalled New Zealand’s first electric frost–fighting fans and are developing ​​​an electric​ foliage​ sprayer​.​ In 2022, they set themselves a challenge of going completely fossil-fuel-free in the orchard. This will potentially save about​ $50k per year in energy bills ​and continues to drive greater creativity in finding or developing alternative approaches."

New Zealand is at the 'electrification tipping point', according to a new report from non-profit Rewiring Aotearoa ... CEO Mike Casey knows all about the environmental impact and economic benefit to decarbonising. Mike talks to Jesse about the [Electric Homes] report and his own journey of 'electrification' at his Cromwell property.

The evidence is clear: it's good for our pockets and for the planet, so what's stopping families and businesses from going electric? How do we address the electrification knowledge gap and other barriers that stand in the way of adopting cleaner, more affordable energy both as individuals and organisations? Bernard Hickey talks to Rewiring Aotearoa CEO Mike Casey about their recent report 'Electric Homes', and how NZ is one of the first countries to reach the "electrification tipping point".

Mike Casey is the CEO of Rewiring Aoteraoa, part of an international movement to accelerate the shift to a renewable, electric-powered economy. Rewiring’s first report is all about the electric home - think rooftop solar, heat pumps, EVs and so on. But Mike is also a horticulturist and a passionate advocate for decarbonising the primary sector. He has the unique ability to win over both farmers and greenies, and politicians just love being seen in front of the electric tractor at his Forest Lodge Orchard - believed to be the world’s-first, electrified, zero-fossil fuel cherry orchard. Mike spoke to Vincent.

"We save such a significant amount of money in energy. It works out to be a 16% increase to profit margin on our farm by using to go electroc rather than use fossil fuels in our machinery and our household. That's led me to focus on how we electrify New Zealand as fast as we can because the savings really do stack up. When we're talking about energy equity and energy hardship and the ened to go through this inevtiable energy transition, that's something I've become super passionate about."

Power prices are rising, and not just because of inflation. But it’s hard to work out how to save money, if you can’t understand your bill. ... The Detail speaks to Josh Ellison, the research and development lead for Rewiring Aotearoa – a non-profit charity working to help New Zealand transition to a low-cost electrified economy. The group has recently released a report into how New Zealand homes can become more electric – and this doesn’t have to mean higher electricity prices. The key, Ellison says, is to use a mix of power from the grid with solar and and home battery (storing cheaper energy such as solar for use when that energy’s not available or more expensive). This option is becoming more attractive as prices for panels and batteries come down, but the group would like to see easier access to finance to install solar.

New Zealand is one of the first countries in the world to reach an electrification tipping point, as prices of $3a litre for petrol and high gas costs makes electric homes more affordable than fossil fuelled alternatives. The Electric Homes report, from the charity Rewiring Aotearoa, shows that a combination of EVs and electric appliances are cheaper over the lifetime of the machines, even with higher upfront costs or a 5.5 per cent interest rate for finance.

"An EV could still be cheaper to run after road user charges are introduced on April 1, a new study says. But it will depend on where you charge." (Paywall)

From an electric tractor and electric chainsaws to irrigation and frost fighting systems powered by renewable energy, Rewiring Aotearoa CEO Mike Casey's made huge savings by turning his cherry orchard electric. He's encouraging Kiwis to do the same with their homes. "It is now cheaper to run an electric home than it is a fossil fuel home, even considering the cost of capital, which is a really exciting situation to be in," Casey said. The [Electric Homes] report showed household electrification could save New Zealanders money and reduce emissions.

New Zealand has become one of the few countries in the world where it's now cheaper to run a home and car on electricity rather than fossil fuels.

A new paper argues that financing for solar power would be the cheapest and most efficient way to electrify the economy. The Electric Homes report, put together by Rewiring Aotearoa and others, argues that rooftop solar is now far cheaper than any other source of electricity with households well placed to cut their costs and reduce emissions.

Such significant financial benefits are expected to motivate consumers towards electrification, regardless of whether electricity distribution networks are equipped to handle the change. The anticipated surge in adoption within New Zealand could mirror the extensive adoption of home solar systems in Australia, propelled by government subsidies. It is hoped that New Zealand will better anticipate and prepare for this grid-edge revolution than Australia managed to do.

18 March 2024: New Zealand is one of the first places in the world where electric appliances and vehicles are now more affordable than their fossil fuel equivalents. A new report has shown that, on average, homes currently using gas appliances and petrol vehicles could save thousands every year if they went electric and got their electricity from a combination of rooftop solar, home battery and New Zealand’s already highly renewable grid.

The Electric Homes Report by independent energy transition charity Rewiring Aotearoa shows the country is among the pioneers in making electric appliances more cost-effective over their lifetime than fossil fuelled ones, even with upfront costs and finance included. Rewiring Aotearoa's chief executive Mike Casey said electric appliances and vehicles were now economically favourable compared to fossil fuel ones, due to their efficiency and reduced operational costs.

"A house that moves to being fully electric - with solar panels and an electric vehicle, even with the cost of finance can save thousands of dollars a year compared to the fossil fuel equivalent. Rewiring Aotearoa - a non-profit organisation making the case for electrification of homes, businesses and communities - has today put out its Electric Homes report. It says New Zealand is likely one of the first countries in the world to have reached a point where electrification delivers both cost and emissions savings."

"I had not gone to the Forum with particularly high expectations but it didn’t take long to realise that this was something special. Speakers from across the entire spectrum of the environmental debate took the podium. From the Environmental Defence Society to Federated Farmers, to big business interests like Fonterra, to environmental scientists like Fin Ross, to the fossil free cherry orchardist from Cromwell and his Rewiring Aotearoa initiative, to Wayne Mulligan who discussed the $30 billion dollar bio forestry opportunity for our farming and forestry industries."

ASB and Rewiring Aotearoa have signed a letter of intent to produce a pilot study on energy transitions in Kiwi homes, examining renewable energy options such as solar panels, batteries, and electric appliances.

In this future, consumer infrastructure needs to compete on a level playing field with traditional infrastructure – if a $10,000 battery on a consumer’s premises can provide the same service as a $20,000 supply-side asset (a network or generation investment), the consumer’s asset should be selected for the service. However, today there is a systemic bias towards traditional infrastructure largely because it is seen as significantly more ‘dependable’. There are a variety of historical reasons for this. Our primary context to this submission is that many of the assumptions and rationale for this bias are quickly falling away, and DPP4 provides a significant opportunity for the Commerce Commission (the Commission) to reset the assumptions and correct some of this bias.

The founders of the world's first fully electric orchard are using their knowledge to help climate-conscious farmers ditch fossil fuels and embrace the cost savings that come with renewable technology.

Mike and Rebecca Casey have what could be the first zero-fossil fuels orchard in the world. Their Forest Lodge Orchard - growing mainly cherries - in Cromwell has no diesel or petrol on site and has the country's first electric tractor.

The EA has the ability to take a leadership role in the energy transition on behalf of electricity consumers. Far more than the Commerce Commission’s oversight of EDBs investment plans, the EA’s network pricing workplan gives consumers agency in the development of the electricity system. When consumer agency is stifled, they will likely have significantly worse financial outcomes on their bills. Much of the necessary changes have been demonstrated already locally or overseas, and the remaining question is not if the changes are possible but if we as a nation will have the courage to implement them on the timeline required to drive better energy transition outcomes for consumers.

In July 2023, at a showcase tech demo in Central Otago, New Zealand, the world’s first 100% electric, driver-optional, smart tractor was deployed at the world’s first 100% electric, zero fossil fuel orchard sparking a wave of excitement and interest across the country. Three months later, that same electric tractor made an appearance on New Zealand’s most-watched television show, Hyundai Country Calendar.

A Central Otago couple creates the country’s first fossil-fuel-free cherry orchard, using electricity, solar power and an electric tractor.

When Mike Casey, tech entrepreneur, decided to get into farming, he had no idea what he was in for. Maybe that's why he was willing to set the extraordinarily ambitious target of creating the world's first 100% zero fossil-fuel orchard. In this vulnerable and transparent talk, he walks us through the reality of what worked, what didn't, how much it all cost, and whether it was worthwhile.

The electrification of a farm system is no bowl of cherries – but one Otago farmer has learnt lessons along the way that should help others in pursuit of low-carbon farming.

As it enters a new phase of its energy transition, New Zealand has the opportunity to provide global leadership on how to deploy renewables-based electricity across the economy.