News & Updates

Transpower tries to give New Zealanders a lightbulb moment with its explainer campaign (and a documentary series goes back to the start); celebrity chef Tom Shepherd cooks up some big cost savings with a more efficient commercial kitchen; Mike Taylor from Pie Funds lays out an electric argument that would help fix our balance of trade; Vessev gets some competition in Auckland with the arrival of the Candela P-12 electric hydrofoiling ferry (which Meridian has ordered for Manapouri); and a review of Australia's fastest home EV charger and its bi-directional-enabled capability.

After surveying almost 100 New Zealanders about their solar and battery installs, Mysolarquotes recently released 'The Hidden Costs of Solar and Battery Systems in New Zealand: 2024 Insights' report. And it's good news for customers looking to go big.

One of Rewiring's key objectives for 2025 is to grow the number of community electrification groups. And Jay Salzke, who started as ecosystem lead late last year, has been travelling the country to help spark them up.

There’s been an understandable focus on the price of electricity recently, with fears we may be in for a repeat of the wholesale debacle of 2024 as our hydro lake levels remain low. The Energy Competition Taskforce made another announcement about levelling the playing field for independent retailers and removing preferential pricing for the gentailers’ retail arms. Just like the previous announcement that talked about moves to level the playing field for customers with solar and batteries, this is another positive step towards a fairer system, but it’s not guaranteed to bring electricity prices down, as Mike Casey told Andrew Dickens on Newstalk ZB.

As the focus remains on rising electricity costs in New Zealand, solar and storage continues to drop in price and is set to become the cheapest source of energy around the world in the next few years; an Auckland man's quest to create the world's first electric helicopter; the efficiency of electric flight and the pitfalls of predictions; an electric road in Sweden that could wirelessly charge EVs; solid state batteries take to the streets and look set to increase range; and why going electric was better than offsetting because it led to actual emissions reductions for WoolWorks and Sawmill.

Rewiring Aotearoa CEO Mike Casey writes in Newsroom (paywall) that the low hydro lake levels are putting us at risk of another energy crunch in 2025, but more solar on our homes, farms and businesses would help bolster our energy security. As he says: "Solar is an energy source that is proven to perform better in dry years, ranks as the cheapest form of energy ever developed by humans and can help bring the cost of electricity down for everyone. When the leaves start dropping next year, I hope Min. Watts isn’t quite as concerned about lake levels or long-term forecasts because he can bask in the sunshine and know that he has helped more New Zealand homes, farms and businesses generate cheap electricity from the big nuclear fusion reactor in the sky. The future is bright."

Ahead of an SBN Masterclass event in March, Rewiring Aotearoa's Mike Casey offers his top tips about communicating sustainability effectively, adding to advice from John Berry, Gabrielle Pritchard, Albert Bifet and Laura Cibilich.

Following on from the coverage of all-electric Forest Lodge Orchard, Fully Charged's host Robert Llewellyn takes to the water and speaks with Vessev CEO Erik Laakman about the effiency gains and emissions reductions offered by the world's first commercial electric hydrofoiling boat.

It's a two-way street this week as energy minister makes positive noises about 'big batteries on wheels' playing a role in the energy system (and Zaptec smart chargers aim very high with a new campaign), Fed-Ex rolls out a few more electric delivery vans and wonders why everyone else isn't doing it, the story behind New Zealand's first electric coffee roastery in Queenstown, Christchurch Airport also claims a first with an electric firetruck, and Nat Bullard shows what's going on with the climate and where we're getting our energy from.

RNZ's Kathryn Ryan talked to Rewiring Aotearoa CEO Mike Casey and Electricity Networks Aotearoa's Tracey Kai about the changes proposed by the Energy Competition Taskforce and how they will improve the already impressive return on investment for solar and batteries. As Casey said, the most important thing to remember is that the biggest benefits to households come from using solar as it is the cheapest form of delivered electricity available to New Zealand homes and those with electric machines and cars can save thousands each year on their energy bills. Exporting excess energy is generally a cherry on top and the proposed changes to reward peak export might only represent a small increase for households, but they may be significant for farmers or businesses with more space. More solar and batteries also helps to bring down the cost for everyone on the network, reduces the need for expensive pole and wire upgrades, which are paid for on customers' bills and can also help create more security of supply by keeping water in the dams.

A love letter to electrification this week as a kea soars high on solar, more electric buses for Auckland (and more Rivian vans for businesses), longer lasting EV batteries, more solar on smart schools, an open letter to the Australian Government asking for 'Real Zero' not net zero, and the world's first electric snowbike.

As Rewiring Aotearoa’s Electric Homes research has shown, New Zealand has already reached the electrification tipping point, so going electric and running your home and car with a combination of grid electricity and rooftop solar and batteries is already a good economic decision for most homes (and likely the best thing they can do to reduce emissions). But, as Newsroom's Marc Daalder writes about the Energy Competition Taskforce proposals (paywalled), "proposed changes to the electricity market could see Kiwis paid more for the solar power they export to the grid, and less when drawing from the grid at off-peak times".

"I firmly believe electricity is the next crop for farmers in New Zealand, and the more farmers that get involved in this, the better the returns for farmers are going to be ... My big dream is that farmers start powering New Zealand. That would be really cool." Seven Sharp ventured to Cromwell recently and Rachel Parkin put together a beautiful story about the all-electric Forest Lodge Orchard. The team has proven that it's possible to grow cherries without burning any diesel on the farm - 'not a single drop,' as manager Euan White says - and that farmers can play a role in the energy system by generating, using, storing and exporting their own electricity. At the moment, many homes, farms and businesses are reliant on expensive molecules sent to us from the other side of the world. Fossil fuels have taken us a long way, but there is a better and cheaper option: locally-produced electrons. That's good for businesses, and good for the country as a whole. Watch the show on TVNZ+ (skip to 4 mins).

Fully Charged, which has a large global reach and claims to be the world's number one home energy and electric vehicle channel, came to visit Mike Casey at the all-electric Forest Lodge recently. As host Robert Llewellyn (who Red Dwarf fans may recognise) says: "I think this is a shining example of what can be done today and what should be be done, particularly for countries like New Zealand that have to import their fossil fuels from a long, long way away".

RNZ's Susan Edmunds reports on the Energy Competition Taskforce proposals and says the changes "should lead to New Zealanders with solar power systems on their houses get more of a return for any power they put back into the system". As Electricity Authority chair Anna Kominik says: "New Zealand's electricity market currently relies on a few big generators to supply electricity at select locations and transmit it to households and businesses across the country. But as uptake of solar and battery systems continues to increase, more consumers will be able to contribute to our electricity system. And as smart electronics and vehicles become more ubiquitous, consumers will also be able to more actively manage their own energy use and costs. We're proposing three changes to help support this consumer empowerment and decentralisation of our energy system. Over time, this will increase community resilience and lower power costs for everyone," she said.

Homeowners with solar panels and batteries installed could be paid more to sell electricity back to the grid, reports TVNZ's Jessica Roden following the release of the Energy Competition Taskforce proposals. As Nelson solar installer Jon Pirie says in the piece, perfectly illustrating the 'neighbourhood effect', "year over year, people are more interested. They see the power bills going down and next thing the neighbours have got solar." Mike Casey also appears in the story saying anything we can do to incentivise customers to install their own generation and storage will help create the cheapest energy system.

Rewiring Aotearoa's response to the Energy Competition Taskforce: a pat on the back for recognising the shift and focusing on the role customers are playing - and will play - in the energy system, but just a light pat because more could be done to ensure the proposals are followed through on.

We're definitely not running on fumes this week ... Why our electric future - from e-bikes to e-boats - looks both fun and functional, why swapping fuel for finance is crucial for homeowners (and access to capital is crucial for businesses like Chargenet that are helping to speed up the transition), how renewable energy projects are helping developing countries and low-income communities, and an ad from 1929 that reminds us of something.

Stuff's Kylie Klein Nixon showcases the many benefits of Carl Hamlin's electric new build, which includes a hot water heat pump and solar panels. As the story says: "Water heating comprises about 1/3 of a household’s energy use, [EECA's Gareth] Gretton says. Hot water systems have a 15-year life expectancy, and 46% of hot water systems in New Zealand are over 10 years old. When we do replace old hot water systems, there is a tendency to replace like-for-like." Gas is the most expensive, hot water heat pumps have the lowest running costs and you're likely to make the most savings by electrifying your vehicle. If you want to save cash and slash emissions, your next purchasing decision should be electric.

The most important energy cost is not what a corporation pays to produce or generate it, but what a consumer pays to buy it. That’s why Mike Casey argues the delivered cost of rooftop solar and batteries – and the other benefits these technologies provide to the system – need to be factored in when making investment decisions.