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The Guardian Australia's Aston Brown looks at the promise of electric technology in the agricultural sector as well as some of the existing barriers to update and talks to Mike Casey about the opportunities that already exist in horticulture and viticulture. He also talks to Terry Krieg, the co-founder of Linttas Electric Company, who is developing a semi-autonomous combine harvester that claims to reduce fuel use by a third. But it's not just about reducing carbon emissions and costs, says Prof. Ray Willis, managing director of Future Smart Strategies. “It’s about redesigning the vehicle for the first time in 100 years. If you make it electric, inevitably it turns out to be better, more durable, more reliable.”
Read moreDownload the document hereWhen 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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