Read our new Electric Homes and Vehicles report
In our policy manifesto, the number one thing we're hoping to get across the line is a scheme that gives everyone access to low-interest long-term loans for electrification upgrades. We believe the best way to do that is through the proposed Ratepayer Assistance Scheme and The Post's Harriet Laughton has looked at that scheme and what that might mean. Several large councils are already backing it, others are being asked to support it, and Simon 'MegaWatts' Watts has also indicated he's supportive. That could mean New Zealanders would be able to get cheaper finance to install electric appliances like heat pumps for space and hot water and solar and battery systems - and they would be saving money on their energy bills from day one.
Read moreDownload the document hereRewiring Aotearoa always fights for the people who use the energy. The new Electricity Authority chair John Harbord has been doing the same thing for a while now, albeit at the big end of town, so we’re excited to see what he brings to the table because there’s a lot that needs to change.
Read moreDownloadThe only way is up for solar as New Zealand hits 1GW (but the powers that be still keep underestimating its appeal, as they have done consistently and almost comically around the world); the only way is down for bills in electric homes, as the Eye Surgery in Hastings and financial commentator Frances Cook explain; veteran environmentalist Bill McKibben talks to Ezra Klein about the economic forces pushing the world towards solar - and what's slowing it down; Pitcairn Island ditches the diesel, while the Vatican aims to get all its energy from heaven, rather than hell; and can you run an off-grid workshop with old vape batteries?
Read moreDownloadSpecial report: EV batteries could store all the power we need in a day. How can NZ unlock that energy to slash bills and keep the lights on? As QEA and Rewiring Aotearoa's Josh Ellison says about the potential: “You’re getting a battery for less than $1000/kWh and it comes with a free car. Or really, what is more realistic is that people are buying a car for car reasons. They need a car. And it’s coming with a battery that can then give them all these other financial benefits, like lowering their bills.”
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