The 'Electric Election': energy policies, side by side
There can't be too many off-grid MPs in the world, but Celia Wade-Brown is one of them and she's the latest candidate in our ongoing series Political Power, where we get up close and personal with our elected representatives about their energy use.
Wade-Brown is a List MP for the Greens and lives on a remote farm in the Wairarapa with no power supply to the road or the house, so they started off with solar and batteries and added a small hydro scheme, which is a great combo that makes the winters in the valley more liveable.
They can charge the E-bike and all the electric tools and they also have a New Zealand-designed Tuatara electric side-by-side vehicle, which is great for getting around the rough stuff on the farm and putting out the traps. She even went all the way to Masterton, which is a trip of about 50km.
She hasn't electrified the tractor yet, but that's a higher degree of difficulty and something to put on the list for later.
As Mike Casey says, her farm is almost like a microcosm of New Zealand's energy system. When it's not raining the sun's normally out, and vise versa and, as she says, we have the resources we need - including geothermal and wind - to escape the imported energy trap.
When she was mayor of Wellington she worked on getting solar on schools, which is no-brainer for the taxpayer and the schools, and she says it's also good to see marae being set up with solar and batteries to improve community resilience in the face of increasingly severe weather events.
Wade-Brown will be standing down after this election, but The Greens recently came out with a range of electrification focused policies, including backing the idea of low-interest, long-term loans for electric upgrades. Hydro schemes not included at this stage.
See all the videos in the 'Political Power' series here ⚡https://loom.ly/sDIWbXo
'Twas the night before Chris-mas, and all through the house, all the voters were stirring, the pundits showing their nous … the election will soon be over, but the energy crisis won't, so we'll be there to pester whoever is in power about the need to run more of the economy on New Zealand-made energy; can Ethiopia's aggressive push for EVs work and how does New Zealand compare in terms of adoption rates?; a two-way charging trial from Genesis shows promise in Auckland, but there's still a way to go before it's mainstream; small electric vehicles are often overlooked when it comes to electrifying transport, but it's hard to miss this weird French one; a solar-powered cafe (and some electric coffee); and we endorse the political vandalism of Keith of All Trades.
Read moreDownloadPoliticians are being urged to adopt stronger electric vehicle incentives ahead of the election. Climate and energy advocacy group Rewiring Aotearoa is arguing that EVs are one of the most effective long-term solutions for rising transport and energy costs. They're promoting an EV Salary Boost proposal, which would allow workers to access EVs through pre-tax salary arrangements – similarly to already existing schemes in the UK and Australia. Policy and Government Relations Spokesperson Ngaio Neumegen told Kerre Woodham that even with the rising cost of power, it's still cheaper to run an EV than a car running on imported fuel.
A proposal that would let New Zealanders lease an electric car using their before-tax pay has not won a commitment from either National or Labour, with the 7 November election days away. Under the EV Salary Boost, put forward by Rewiring Aotearoa and Drive Electric, an employee would lease a new or used EV for three to five years. The payments would come out of their pay before tax, lowering the cost of running the car. The idea is based on Australia’s novated leasing system, though the groups say they are not proposing a direct copy.
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