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RNZ's Kathryn Ryan talked to Rewiring Aotearoa CEO Mike Casey and Electricity Networks Aotearoa's Tracey Kai about the changes proposed by the Energy Competition Taskforce and how they will improve the already impressive return on investment for solar and batteries. As Casey said, the most important thing to remember is that the biggest benefits to households come from using solar as it is the cheapest form of delivered electricity available to New Zealand homes and those with electric machines and cars can save thousands each year on their energy bills. Exporting excess energy is generally a cherry on top and the proposed changes to reward peak export might only represent a small increase for households, but they may be significant for farmers or businesses with more space. More solar and batteries also helps to bring down the cost for everyone on the network, reduces the need for expensive pole and wire upgrades, which are paid for on customers' bills and can also help create more security of supply by keeping water in the dams.
When Mike Casey bought his house near Cromwell, it came with gas bottles on the side of the home for water and an expensive diesel system for the underfloor heating. He replaced both of them with a Steibel Eltron system and it's been saving him money ever since. As technical manager Bhawesh Singh told him at the Electrify Queenstown conference, there has been a big influx in enquiries from homes looking to get off the molecules and onto electrons.
Read moreDownloadConfidence that cutting regulations to make solar power more accessible - won't jeopardise people's safety. A new Regulation Ministry reports laid out a potential blueprint to legalise plug-in solar and reduce the time and cost of panel installation. Rewiring Aotearoa CEO Mike Casey shares his thoughts with Andrew Dickens.
The burgeoning demand for solar was also a chance to address a mismatch between the numbers of training opportunities available and young people searching for work, Casey said. "The mums of New Zealand are telling me that there's not enough apprenticeships for their kids and the solar installers of New Zealand are telling me there's not enough trained people."
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