The case for energy loans: read our latest explainer
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."
Everyone is rocking on down to Electric Avenue today (this one online, not that other small one in Hagley Park in Christchurch), so let's ride the lightning: profits and electricity prices keep going up, as panels keep going down; a new paper puts a number on how much more homes with solar sell for; we're bottling things up with big and small batteries and they are eating into gas in Australia and California; transport emissions drop across the Tasman as a result of Government EV incentives, while HEB Construction electrifies its fleet; electrons are coming from above in China; and Xpeng announces the arrival of a crazy looking electric van/aircraft carrier.
Read moreDownloadWarren G and Nate Dogg said it best when they said: 'Regulators, mount up!' - and this week, they have.In a rare joint open letter, three different regulators - EECA (Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority), the Commerce Commission and the Electricity Authority - have basically told the lines companies to pull their socks up and make the most of ‘non-network solutions’ (AKA stop building more expensive poles and wires and start looking at customers and new technology as part of the solution!).
Read moreDownload"The LNG announcement from earlier this month has set the stage: electricity, and the energy sector more broadly, is set to be a major election issue this year. Casey has compared electricity to telecommunications, an area where services have become much cheaper in the last decade with technology advancing. “There are supply challenges for the grid and natural gas, and increasing pressure to find sustainable alternatives as reliance on fossil fuels becomes less viable,” he wrote in a Newsroom piece earlier this month, heralding the “electric election”.
Read moreDownload