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Over 100 people turned up to a meeting in Taranaki this week to voice their opposition to the proposed LNG import terminal. And whether it was cost, emissions or safety, there were a range of concerns raised, as RNZ reported. As we have said from the start - and as a big research project that's set to be released soon confirms - there are cheaper, better ways to solve the dry year issue and LNG is too expensive to be seen as a solution to our diminishing domestic gas reserves.
Our analysis shows that diesel is a better bridging option than LNG as we continue to build renewables and this would also help bolster our fuel resilience.
Mike Casey sent a video message to the meeting and, as he said, rather than investing in vinyl, we should be investing in a Spotify subscription.
We currently have to burn stuff when the lakes get low, but we should be trying to keep the lakes high by using more renewables. Solar is the thing that excites Casey the most and it's particularly important in a dry year as there is more production, but there are some barriers in the way.
Community Energy Taranaki has been doing some great work advocating strongly with council for long-term, low-interest loans for electric upgrades. And now we need the Government to play ball.
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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