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Rakiura / Stewart Island faces the highest electricity prices in New Zealand. Successive governments have funded report after report and numerous fly-in visits by Ministers have failed to change this situation for the local community. Rewiring Aotearoa believes the opportunity is to harness existing solar and battery technology to deliver significant cost-of-living savings and reduced emissions at scale via electrification on Stewart Island right now. With financed solar and batteries, electricity usage costs for residents could be halved without delay. Rewiring Aotearoa has been engaging with the local community, who have been sending us their power bills. On Saturday 27th April some of the Rewiring team visited Stewart Island (including Mike Rewi who has strong whakapapa to Stewart Island). What we are hearing from this community is many locals fear the proposals and the likely “preferred option” will be focused on replacing current diesel generators, not on reducing the cost of energy for consumers. Our proposal outlines Rewiring Aotearoa’s pitch for an alternative approach to develop a community-led energy solution for the Island.
Rakiura / Stewart Island faces the highest electricity prices in New Zealand. Successive governments have funded report after report and numerous fly-in visits by Ministers have failed to change this situation for the local community. Rewiring Aotearoa believes the opportunity is to harness existing solar and battery technology to deliver significant cost-of-living savings and reduced emissions at scale via electrification on Stewart Island right now. With financed solar and batteries, electricity usage costs for residents could be halved without delay. Rewiring Aotearoa has been engaging with the local community, who have been sending us their power bills.
On Saturday 27th April some of the Rewiring team visited Stewart Island (including Mike Rewi who has strong whakapapa to Stewart Island). What we are hearing from this community is many locals fear the proposals and the likely “preferred option” will be focused on replacing current diesel generators, not on reducing the cost of energy for consumers. Our proposal outlines Rewiring Aotearoa’s pitch for an alternative approach to develop a community-led energy solution for the Island by:
1) Engaging with the community to develop and test a package of solutions that will work for the community.
2) Empowering the community through finance to install the lowest cost possible electricity through rooftop solar, and then further lower costs and build resilience by financing their batteries, and electric water and space heaters to improve cost-of-living and comfort. This would simultaneously massively reduce diesel use through generators.
3) Developing an improved electricity pricing model that does not involve full-time residents subsidising crib owners and Airbnbs, or raise costs for those who choose not to install their own generation and storage.
4) Developing a combined supply-side and consumer-side energy transition pathway to enable the community to reduce, and then remove, their dependence on expensive diesel for electricity generation, but also over time to remove their dependence on expensive solid fuel, LPG and diesel (for other uses).
5) Increasing the energy resilience through energy storage on Stewart Island and significantly decreasing the need for diesel, LPG and solid fuel imports.
More evidence that we are in 'the age of electricity'; Dr Saul Griffith lays out his thoughts on a new electric world order (and offers a cautionary tale to New Zealand when it comes to LNG); Vessev keeps expanding, new electric ferries keep proving themselves, and EV Maritime boss says the maritime motivations keep changing; rural solar and batteries are going gangbusters right now and salt of the earth farmers are sharing the love; there's a Cambrian DIY solar explosion happening around the world and it's on its way to New Zealand; and a popular podcast unearths a little known electric first for New Zealand.
Read moreDownloadAs Mike Casey told Mike Hosking on Newstalk ZB, while we might not be able to do much about the oil required to make the plastic pipes (and the coming price increases), we can do something to insulate ourselves against petrol and diesel price spikes.
Read moreDownloadFollowing the announcement of some major electrification and energy security-themed policies at the Greens’ State of the Planet address over the weekend, Rewiring Aotearoa CEO Mike Casey is asking all politicians to pause and think about what their own parties have been saying over the last few weeks, because much of what Marama Davidson and Chlöe Swarbrick discussed is agreed across parties.
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