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FarmGen and AgFirst are collaborating on rural solar and Graeme Davison's 75kW, $85,000 solar system is a good example of the savings on offer. He installed the system in August "after his electricity costs jumped 23%, from $34,000 three years ago to $46,000" and uses it to power his milking shed. "Most farms of this size save between $17,000 and $25,000 a year for an $85,000 investment," he says, so the payback is pretty quick.
There's plenty of demand for solar on farms already and that has likely increased after those with solar and batteries were able to keep running even though the grid went down after the recent storms. And with Fonterra farmers eyeing a big payout after the sale of the consumer brands, investing in some resilience that can pay itself off every day is looking like a pretty good bet.
The Electricity Authority recently consulted on two important issues: 1) Who is able to access rewards for supplying power at peak times. And 2) How much energy consumers can export. We have again been blown away by the response from the people of New Zealand on these important proposals, and humbled that a large number used the information provided by Rewiring as the foundation for powerful submissions. Here's our summary of the responses and our take on the consultations.
Read moreDownloadSolar is already cheap and an increasing number of farmers are discovering that, but Mattt Luscombe has found a way to make it even cheaper. The founder of FarmGen says architects like steel, but engineers like efficiency and taking steel out of the build and instead relying on ground anchors means the owners get more generation for less outlay.
Read moreDownloadWorld Energy Council shows cost is now the biggest issue in New Zealand's energy sector; more New Zealanders running on the sun; as reality catches up with gas users, the Google data tells a story in Australia; focus on the benefits for climate comms; electric events FTW; and Tom Sainsbury gets dirty for Uber Electric
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