'This car can...' Check out our new campaign
Mike Casey's decision to use electricity rather than fossil fuels insulated him against a bad cherry season. And as the price of diesel shoots up, it's an even wiser decision. He talks to Ruari O'Shea of the Otago Daily Times.
The failure to launch of Central Otago’s summer season has had a devastating impact on this year’s cherry crop, but one Cromwell orchardist has fared better than others thanks to his decision to electrify his operation.
‘‘We’ve been told by the old guard in the cherry industry that this is the worst summer in a long time,’’ Electric Cherries owner Mike Casey said. ‘‘There was a lot of wind in the spring, it’s been really cold, and every weekend there’s been 20 to 30mm of rain.
Mr Casey said that around a third of the fruit on his farm was damaged, and that a lot of farmers in the industry lost money this year.
‘‘We didn’t make money, but we didn’t lose it, so we live to fight another season. ‘And I think a lot of that has been down to the energy choices that we made which lowered our operating costs,’’ Mr Casey said.
The ‘‘energy choices’’ that Mr Casey refers to is the decision to run his farm using electric energy rather than fossil fuels.
On Mr Casey’s farm, everything from the frostbite fans to the utes are electric, and 90% of the energy used on the farm is generated on the premises through solar power.
There are a lot more New Zealanders looking for EVs right now as concerns about the price and availability of fuel rises. But many of them are new to the scene. Here are some things to consider to ensure you get the right EV for your needs.
Read moreDownloadThere’s a lot of talk about what electric vehicles can’t do and plenty of myths and misperceptions that might stop people from upgrading. But the people who actually own EVs? They’re overwhelmingly sold and recent research showed that 96% of EV owners would buy another one. That's why we're launching 'This Car Can...' We want to tap into that electric enthusiasm and convince more New Zealanders who may be on the fence to start running on cheap local electrons rather than on expensive imported foreign molecules.
EV owners love all the things their cars can do - and they can do a lot of different things these days. So we're asking them to share a story about their EV experience, upload a photo and tell us what their car can do, or send in a video.
We'll add them to the campaign page and we'll use the best ones on socials and in our advocacy to show how lots of different New Zealanders are benefitting from EVs in their lives.
We've also compiled a whole heap of information on why we love EVs - from the savings to the speed off the mark and everything inbetween.
Get in behind!