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An energy hardship researcher at Otago University is suggesting repurposing the winter energy payment and putting that money towards solar subsidies for households. Senior research fellow Kimberley O'Sullivan says because the price of power has increased so much in recent years, the winter payment covers less and less heating. She says switching the half billion dollars the Government spends on the programme to household solar subsidies to put more electricity generation into the system and reduce overall prices. She also speaks about the role on the Ratepayer Assistance Scheme and low-interest, long-term loans for electric upgrades.
When Mike Casey bought his house near Cromwell, it came with gas bottles on the side of the home for water and an expensive diesel system for the underfloor heating. He replaced both of them with a Steibel Eltron system and it's been saving him money ever since. As technical manager Bhawesh Singh told him at the Electrify Queenstown conference, there has been a big influx in enquiries from homes looking to get off the molecules and onto electrons.
Read moreDownloadConfidence that cutting regulations to make solar power more accessible - won't jeopardise people's safety. A new Regulation Ministry reports laid out a potential blueprint to legalise plug-in solar and reduce the time and cost of panel installation. Rewiring Aotearoa CEO Mike Casey shares his thoughts with Andrew Dickens.
The burgeoning demand for solar was also a chance to address a mismatch between the numbers of training opportunities available and young people searching for work, Casey said. "The mums of New Zealand are telling me that there's not enough apprenticeships for their kids and the solar installers of New Zealand are telling me there's not enough trained people."
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