Read our new Electric Homes and Vehicles report
Another great piece from RNZ's Eloise Gibson about our mixed rankings in the global EV charging stakes and the need to lift our game as EVs become more popular (globally, nearly one in five cars sold in 2023 was electric, a 35 percent year-on-year increase). The government promised 10,000 more public chargers by 2030 and $257 million in funding has been allocated to that goal. At this stage, it's not clear where that money will be spent, but one option that isn't explored in the story is the potential to make use of our 50,000 farms. Farmers investing in mid-scale solar and battery systems could not only power their own machines much more affordably and earn money for sending electricity back to the grid at peak times, but they could also become part of an extensive national charging network and create another new revenue stream. Farms are usually very close to the medium voltage networks, meaning they can scale up renewable systems without physical constraints or undue overloading risks to the distribution networks.
Read moreDownload the document hereWhen 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."
Read moreDownload
