
Yesterday I spoke to Rewiring Aotearoa CEO Mike Casey and Octopus Energy NZ Chief Operating Officer Margaret Cooney about the current state of our electricity market and what could be done to fix it. Casey talked about how he earned extra money by exporting power into the grid at sky-high prices from the solar panels and batteries he installed to fully electrify his cherry orchard in Cromwell. Cooney talked about how Octopus Energy UK pays customers to reduce demand and uses automation to match supply and demand. She also talks about a way to make the market more competitive and viable for independent retailers buying from the wholesale market.
EVs are having a moment right now, so how can we get more people driving electric; Tom Selleck sums up how EV owners are feeling right now and staggering analysis shows the sun's prices have been unaffected by decades of geopolitical conflict; Scion goes solar to get off gas, while dairy farmers and homes go with solar and batteries to keep going; Saul Griffith takes his solar-powered scooter to Canberra and starts a fight with regulators; the Cancer Society's Lions Lodge in Hamilton gets some panels donated and will save $17,000 a year; and killing the Friday vibe with new studies on how fossil fuel companies made massive profits after the last energy crisis in 2022 and carbon emissions making our blood boil - perhaps quite literally.
Read moreDownloadAn electrification advocate says the rising price and falling supply of gas may not be a bad thing in the long-term. PwC research —commissioned by Gas Industry Co— has found New Zealand's gas market will need to shrink sharply as domestic supply declines. It warns this could mean business closures, job losses, and higher energy costs.
There are now almost 100,000 full electric vehicles on the roads in New Zealand. And, according to new Consumer NZ research, which was conducted before war broke out in the Middle East and petrol prices spiked, 96% of EV owners would buy another EV.
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