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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.
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Read moreDownloadAdvances in technology and falling costs mean customer-owned solar and batteries can play a critical role in New Zealand’s energy infrastructure - improving affordability, resilience and sustainability. Multiple trading relationships (MTR) and peer-to-peer trading would enable this potential by increasing competition, customer choice, and innovation in the electricity market, unlocking greater consumer benefits from customer solar and batteries.
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