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Rewiring Aotearoa's Queenstown Electrification Accelerator is on a mission to create the lowest bills, lowest emissions and highest resilience for the region, and make it easy for homes and businesses to go electric. And it just got a big boost after receiving $220,000 from the Central Lakes Trust.
This pilot programme will establish a locally-based team to develop momentum and accelerate movement to alternate energy sources. A 2020 survey showed that 15% of residents in Queenstown and the Central Otago region were unable to heat their homes consistently. With energy costs still rising globally and nationwide, vulnerable households continue to be disproportionately impacted.
“Electrification holds the key to solving many of the challenges we face in our community,” says Rewiring Aotearoa’s CEO Mike Casey. “Switching our energy reliance from fossil fuels to locally generated electricity will lower the cost of living, improve community health, and reduce emissions to help our region become a global role model in community-led energy.”
While the name of the programme includes “Queenstown”, resources, educational materials, events, package deals, and capability building will be made available to everyone throughout the region.
“We are thrilled to support this initiative,” says Linda Robertson, Chair of CLT. “It’s an exciting step toward a more resilient and low-emissions future that ensures all our communities have access to clean, affordable energy.”
When the project was launched, Casey said demonstration projects are crucial to show people what’s possible and his all-electric orchard near Cromwell is a prime example of that. Similarly, he believes Queenstown could become a demonstration project in its own right.
“This transition to electric machines is already happening, in large part because the economics now stack up so well, but the Accelerator is all about speeding the transition up in one location through a combination of education, training, and innovation.”
The project will provide:
The Queenstown region has played a central role in New Zealand’s renewable energy history. And now it’s about to play an important role in the world’s renewable energy future by turning Queenstown into the world’s most electrified destination.
For more information and to register your interest, visit qea.nz.
Financial commentator Frances Cook uses her own story to show that that an investment in solar and an EV significantly outperforms the stock market and fellow number cruncher Nadine Higgins says that if you do it right, EVs are cheaper to run and own; EV sales have climbed to their highest level since 2022 and are closing in on 2023's numbers and Go Rentals has just invested $2.3 million in some new Tesla Model Y Premiums; the gap between energy costs of diesel vans and utes and electric vans and utes is absolutely massive; solar is also going off right now, with one installer in Otago 448% above their sales target in March; Lightforce has gone back to the Barretts with a new TV ad; Wellington mayor Andrew Little explains its electrification strategy and Hutt City Council shares data showing how its fleet has gone from dirty Toyotas to cleaner EVs; Shenzen in China has electrified its public transport and taxis and that's come with big benefits - and some challenges; and a very simple illustration of the LNG terminal.
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