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Crux talks to Mike Casey about the launch of Rewiring Aotearoa's ambitious new Queenstown Electrification Accelerator project. "The vision is big. To make Queenstown the global capital of total electrification - buses, cars, hotels, our airport, houses - and yes, even gondolas. For the region to become the world’s most electrified destination."
As Peter Newport wrote in his introductory piece:
There’s a lot of talk about electrification in Queenstown and the Southern Lakes at the moment but today something different has happened. Mike Casey, a man with a formidable business record and apparently limitless energy, has launched the Queenstown Electrification Accelerator.
The vision is big. To make Queenstown the global capital of total electrification - buses, cars, hotels, our airport, houses - and yes, even gondolas. For the region to become the world’s most electrified destination.
The QEA project has some big muscle behind it - private investors, local council and tourism agencies, the NZ Government, Mike’s organisation Rewiring Aotearoa and Ara Ake - NZ’s future energy Hub.
Most importantly Mike has the stamina and business acumen to get us all on board.
Crux is fully committed to backing the QEA project and has watched Mike turn vision into reality first with his Forest Lodge cherry farm near Cromwell and in recent times becoming NZ’s leading advocate for fundamental change in the energy sector. Mike is a successful entrepreneur who founded and then sold two major Australian companies before returning to NZ.
The new website which went live only a few hours ago presents a clear and compelling view of where the project is heading.
Rewiring Aotearoa is in favour of universal Road User Charges as we believe it will address an artificial market distortion for vehicles that is not in New Zealand’s economic, fuel security, or resilience interests. Here's what we told the Select Committee.
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