The case for energy loans: read our latest explainer
"Do you reckon yours were 32s or 34s, Ginny?"
Parliament grounds were buzzing yesterday as The Great Electric Cherry Migration reached its final destination. The 100% electric cherries travelled north from Cromwell on a 100% electric truck and all our MPs had a box delivered to their office along with a personalised letter talking up the massive electric opportunity for New Zealand.
It was a tangible demonstration of what's possible when we embrace homegrown energy rather than foreign molecules - something that was thrown into sharp relief after the announcement of the LNG terminal the day before - and we had over 30 MPs and hundreds of passersby stop by for a chat, a look at the truck and a free cherry (or ten).
Mike Hosking received a load of cherries from his own adopted tree and spoke to Rewiring CEO Mike Casey about the season last week and he obviously got the memo about the campaign because he asked MPs Ginny Andersen and Mark Mitchell if they'd received their box on the show this morning.
It's clear Hosking has become a bit of an enthusiast and he's keen on those big 34mm cherries, but Andersen was slightly perplexed about what she thought was a rather personal question.
Everyone is rocking on down to Electric Avenue today (this one online, not that other small one in Hagley Park in Christchurch), so let's ride the lightning: profits and electricity prices keep going up, as panels keep going down; a new paper puts a number on how much more homes with solar sell for; we're bottling things up with big and small batteries and they are eating into gas in Australia and California; transport emissions drop across the Tasman as a result of Government EV incentives, while HEB Construction electrifies its fleet; electrons are coming from above in China; and Xpeng announces the arrival of a crazy looking electric van/aircraft carrier.
Read moreDownloadWarren G and Nate Dogg said it best when they said: 'Regulators, mount up!' - and this week, they have.In a rare joint open letter, three different regulators - EECA (Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority), the Commerce Commission and the Electricity Authority - have basically told the lines companies to pull their socks up and make the most of ‘non-network solutions’ (AKA stop building more expensive poles and wires and start looking at customers and new technology as part of the solution!).
Read moreDownload"The LNG announcement from earlier this month has set the stage: electricity, and the energy sector more broadly, is set to be a major election issue this year. Casey has compared electricity to telecommunications, an area where services have become much cheaper in the last decade with technology advancing. “There are supply challenges for the grid and natural gas, and increasing pressure to find sustainable alternatives as reliance on fossil fuels becomes less viable,” he wrote in a Newsroom piece earlier this month, heralding the “electric election”.
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