
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.
In search of cleaner air, Vietnam prepares to usher in an electric motorbike era, while other developing nations go electric for the economics and the UK goes bananas for small EVs; ten years since the Paris Accord and there are many reasons to be optimistic; America's first all-electric hospital gets set to open; Pila Energy looks to get more storage into homes by focusing on appliances; Australia takes another step forward on V2G and some customers are making good money from renting out their cars; and an electric angle to the Louvre heist.
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