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Compared to most of our MPs, Scott Willis is a very early adopter. As the latest episode of our 'Political Power' series shows, the Green MP's home in Waitati has had solar panels on the roof since 2013 and he bought a Nissan Leaf in 2016. He runs a full suite of electric gardening gear - which can often be a powerful gateway drug after people see how well they perform - and recently upgraded to a BYD Atto3 with a 60kwH battery.
He has a wood stove that helps with cooking and heats the water, as well as a gas cooktop, but that is nearing the end of its life and, as he says, "I am looking forward to it breaking down; I'm looking forward to the induction stove that will fit in that space".
Willis ran the peer-to-peer Blueskin Energy Network for several years and it provided signals to users on how clean or dirty their energy was so they could adapt their behaviour accordingly. Increasingly, we're seeing economic signals being offered to customers to either reduce their use, or contribute to the system with solar, batteries and, in the future, EVs. That's the kind of 21st Century approach he thinks we need to take.
"If you want a slogan, it's 'Think Distributed', not 'Think Big' ... We all have energy assets at home. We have hot water systems, we have heating systems, we have transport, we've got cooking facilities. All of those assets can be used much more intelligently and, at the moment, most of that value is lost because it's not able to be incorporated into our wider energy system."
Political Power has gone local! Dr Nick Smith, mayor of Nelson and ex-National Party minister, is an early adopter when it comes to electric machines but, through his efforts with the council and his close involvement with the Ratepayer Assistance Scheme, he's also embracing one of Rewiring's core mantras: once you've electrified your own life, electrify someone else's life, too.
Read moreDownloadWhether it's the growing number of electric buses, new electric trains for the lower North Island and City Rail Link, or new electric ferries, we love seeing more electric transport options in our big cities. It's also good to see some of our smaller cities like Palmerston North, Timaru and Nelson going electric and, as is almost always the case, the drivers reckon it's better on electrons. At the Electrify Nelson expo, we spoke with one driver Lee about the city's electric buses. And he definitely wouldn't go back to diesel.
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