
Power prices are rising, and not just because of inflation. But it’s hard to work out how to save money, if you can’t understand your bill. ... The Detail speaks to Josh Ellison, the research and development lead for Rewiring Aotearoa – a non-profit charity working to help New Zealand transition to a low-cost electrified economy. The group has recently released a report into how New Zealand homes can become more electric – and this doesn’t have to mean higher electricity prices. The key, Ellison says, is to use a mix of power from the grid with solar and and home battery (storing cheaper energy such as solar for use when that energy’s not available or more expensive). This option is becoming more attractive as prices for panels and batteries come down, but the group would like to see easier access to finance to install solar.
"My message is to not wait it out – instead, grab the opportunity to get ahead. In the long term, unless we hit another Maui, which is unlikely and would take decades to bring online, the era of cheap, abundant gas is over. Business leaders need to start planning now." That's EECA's chief executive Marcos Pelenur writing in the Herald about businesses struggling with rising gas prices and faster than expected declines in gas reserves.
Read moreDownloadTalk about driving change!ETrucks' Ross Linton is at the forefront of New Zealand's nascent electric trucking scene and can claim responsibility for a number of firsts, from the country's first electric concrete truck to the country's first battery swap set up. Since he brought his first electric truck in to the country back in 2018, the technology has advanced massively and driving on electrons has become quite a bit cheaper than diesel and, not surprisingly, that's inspiring a great deal of interest among businesses.
Read moreDownloadHow the sun led to higher salaries for teachers in the US and why this should be happening here, too; how "the once-rigid link between economic growth and carbon emissions is breaking across the vast majority of the world" as electrification gives more countries a productivity boost (and how that would allow New Zealand to keep embracing our long, languid summer break); solar continues to weather storms and provide 'free resilience'; Dunedin laundry company Preens goes electric and saves over 300 utes worth of emissions; the company that wants you to drink diesel exhaust; and a wonderful rundown of the Kill Bills tour - and the national electrification opportunity - from one of the tour sponsors.
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