'This car can...' Check out our new campaign
.jpg)
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.
The expensive fuel prices triggered by the choking of the Hormuz Strait were not stopping an undercurrent of change, Rewiring Aotearoa chief executive Mike Casey said. "We're talking about kitchen table or dinner table decisions rather than board- room table decisions." Casey, who runs a fully electric cherry farm in Central Otago, said New Zealand could benefit from introducing a “salary sacrifice" scheme similar to one available in Australia for people wanting to buy new electric cars. “We can get brand new basic electric cars onto the road ... for under $200 a week, at least for people in New Zealand, for our essential workers, for our teachers, for our nurses, and that includes registration, insurance, maintenance, energy and the car itself."
Read moreDownloadKeeping up with the Joneses (in a good way) as Australia shifts towards sun and wind and away from fuels; New Zealand gets a good grade in terms of how electric our economy is, but we're well behind the leaders; batteries are booming (also in a good way) and eating into gas; how to get that 'wok hei' flavour with induction; a big electric barbie event gets set to break a Guinness World Record; Joby Aviation's historic electric test flights in New York; and what's old is new again with electric classic cars and even an electric museum.
Read moreDownload
