Both National and Labour are rolling out new solar power proposals ahead of the election, and it's clear there's mood for change.
Current WorkSafe rules prohibit the use of certain plug-in solar systems because connecting solar panels directly to standard household plugs is considered a safety risk.
Rewiring Aotearoa CEO Mike Casey says most political parties are getting behind new proposed energy changes and it's very exciting for the sector.
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Kerrywood and Morning's podcast from News TALKSB.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Both National and Labor as you've heard of backing initiatives
to help households adopt solar power, but regulatory barriers remain.
Current work safe rules prohibit the use of certain plug
in solar systems because connecting solar panels directly to standard
household plugs is considered a safety risk. The Green Party
(00:32):
wants Parliament to pass a solar loan scheme before the election,
given that Labor and National now both support the idea
and principle. Mike Casey is the CEO of Rewiring alta
Or and joins me. Now, very good morning.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
To you, Kerrie.
Speaker 3 (00:46):
How are you well.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
I'm very well. This must be this is your golden age,
isn't it.
Speaker 3 (00:52):
It's a very exciting time to be in New Zealander.
I feel we're about to get some major shift in
the energy system that will finally benefit our people, something
that we've been talking about for a long time, and
I'm just thrilled that it seems to have transcended ideologies
now and it looks like most political parties in some
capacity are really getting behind what we've been advocating for
(01:13):
so it's a very exciting time.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
We've got a lot of wa aboutisms though coming through.
What about the fact that you still have to pay
for the lines and if the power companies aren't getting
as much money through the sale of electricity, if you will,
they will charge more to have that electricity line supplied
there to be used in times of need.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
Yeah, I think there is still a lot of work
that has to be done in the regulatory settings of
our energy system. We have an energy system that was
designed in the nineteen nineties before anyone had heard about
solar panels, and certainly no one had really ever thought
about storing energy and home batteries. But both these technologies,
when implemented correctly with the right settings, will massively reduce
(01:59):
the cost of the future infrastructure. So we often hear
this narrative that New Zealand's grid isn't good enough to
support the electrification of everything, and it needs to we
need to spend tens of billions of dollars on it.
But in all honesty, when you look at our grid now,
it's average utilization rate is only forty percent, which means
conceivably squeeze twice as much power into those existing poles
(02:21):
and wires. The problem is we all want to use
power at the same time, and so you know, incentivizing
battery adoption is one of the key ways that we
can avoid that from happening. And so that's one of
my big north stars at the moment is to really
make sure we build out an energy system that is
for the citizens of New Zealand rather than the shareholders
of the companies that currently deliver that energy, while at
(02:41):
the same time making sure that you know, we don't
while we look at the problems of New Zealand's electricity system,
we don't move away from the fact that actually half
of the energy in our economy runs off imported energy
from overseas and ultimately running on New Zealand made energy,
regardless of the problems that we currently have, is the
best solution for our economy and our people and our
energy security and all of the things.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
So, I mean, everyone talks about the batteries. For solar
power to be useful, it needs to be stored. That's cumbersome,
unsightly expensive to get the batteries.
Speaker 3 (03:14):
The short answer is that's coming down in price, but
also not really is the other answer there right where
in this interesting situation now where you can use your
solar to heat your hot water cylinder during the day,
and hot water you know, makes up thirty percent of
your annual electricity bill, and so there is an opportunity
to really start saving money even you know, when you're
(03:35):
not at home. The other big thing is, you know,
the cheapest batteries available to New Zealanders now come with
a free car, and so the ability to soak up
a lot of that solar using an electric vehicle is
another a massive opportunity for our people that essentially stops
us buying all this important energy from overseas. But it
(03:57):
is a little bit different for different people, right Some
people will require batteries in order to make it work,
others won't, And we've just got to work through and
realize that every household is just a little bit different,
and some people might not want a battery in their home,
and that is cool. Solar is probably still going to
actually have an economic benefit benefit for them.
Speaker 2 (04:13):
Anyway, I'm thinking about the renters, you know, they're not
going to be able to I know that it's a
bit like computers. When computers first came out, they were huge,
and they were cumbersome and they were ten thousand dollars
for your household computer. And now they're not. They're lightweight
and portable and everybody has them and they're relatively inexpensive.
But the batteries have got a way to go, given
that the cheapest one is about three and a half grand.
Speaker 3 (04:35):
Well, I think we've kind of missed the boat on
the media on this one a little bit when we
when you know, plug and Solar was announced. Because at
the same time that plug and Solar gets approved and
that is being able to go down to Bunnings and
buying a solar panel for four hundred dollars and plugging
it into your wall socket. We also now have plug
and batteries available and they're being used all over Europe.
(04:57):
And so the ability for you to be able to
charge a battery off a wall socket during that hour
of free power that your retailer might give you, or
charge that battery, use your plug in solar system and
then pushing it back into your home, you know during
those peak times when electricity is way more expensive, or
you know, choosing to run the dishwasher or the washing
machine off that battery with energy that you've stored really
(05:19):
really cheaply is a massive win. Again and again those
plug and batteries can be picked up and taken with
you when you move to your next rental property. So
this whole technology, what is available to the customer is
just it's just such an exciting time, I think, and
I think we're on the cusp of seeing something you know,
pretty revolutionary happen in New Zealand.
Speaker 2 (05:36):
Now do you think perhaps that because we are a
bit behind the eight ball, we're going to be able
to benefit from what other countries have done, perhaps a
hun of stakes they might have made, or better efficiencies
they've learned from one hundred percent.
Speaker 3 (05:51):
I mean in Australia's got forty percent rooftop solar penetration. They
started this journey, you know, in decades before we did.
It was under the John Howard regime that it started.
And of course what happened when you know they put
too much solar on the roofs is it flooded the
grid and caused the opposite of a shore your power
and overloaded things and pushed the voltage too high. We
can learn from that very easily. The Australians have now
(06:12):
solved that problem and we can look at them and learn,
you know, exactly how to do this effectively. And that
was also done at a time where batteries just were
not economical and now they are. And so with that
opportunity on the horizon, we can now learn from what
they've done and build out a far better system. The
amount of batteries that you know Australia has now installed,
it's hundreds and hundreds of thousands of batteries that have
(06:34):
been installed this year. You know, they've basically installed the
in homes, They've installed the capacity of the Humpy power
station in like eight months, and that just shows you
just how effective this is a lot of A little
is a lot. And I'm really keen to make sure
that you know, we take advantage of this as well,
because ultimately we actually probably have a better electricity system
(06:55):
for doing this than the Australians because we have all
this amazing hydro, whereas they still have to figure out
how to get off coal.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
Well, if only we could have another hydro, but the
Greens are opposed to that. They want green energy, but
they don't want a hydro, damn.
Speaker 3 (07:07):
And this is where we need to all pull up
our big boy and big girl pants and actually have
some conversations about what is in New Zealand's best interest,
because in order to get off the fifty percent of
the energy that we currently import to run our economy,
we need about twice as much electricity generation, and that
means everything needs to be on the table. I get
very excited about rooftop solar and farm solar because that
(07:29):
could go provide an awful lot of that energy, but
we also are going to need more big things. We're
going to need more wind farms, more solar farms, more
offshore wind, more geo thermal, and indeed probably more hydro.
And you know, this is why the narrative for New
Zealand is so important.
Speaker 2 (07:46):
Energy, especially if we're inviting data banks to come to
this country one hundred percent.
Speaker 3 (07:51):
It's you know, we've got ten million machines in New
Zealand that will probably end up getting electrified by twenty fifty.
We then twice as much electricity to run them. If
we're thinking about things like data censers, which could actually
have a huge economic benefit for New Zealand, then we're
going to have to figure out how to go beyond
just doubling the amount of electricity on the grid and
so all of this is really exciting. New Zealand made
energy is the ticket I believe to New Zealand's prosperity,
(08:15):
and so yes, I think everything has to be on
the table. Everything has externalities, and rather than just saying
no to everything, I think we need to get on
a better north star, which is just focusing on running
as much of our economy as we can off energy
that we can create ourselves.
Speaker 2 (08:29):
All Right, I thank you very much for your time.
I'm sure it won't be the last time we talked.
Mike Casey rewiring altered or CEO.
Speaker 1 (08:36):
For more from Kerry Wood and Mornings, listen live to
news talks. It'd be from nine am weekdays, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio
You're listening to the Kerrywood and Morning's podcast from News TALKSB.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Both National and Labor as you've heard of backing initiatives
to help households adopt solar power, but regulatory barriers remain.
Current work safe rules prohibit the use of certain plug
in solar systems because connecting solar panels directly to standard
household plugs is considered a safety risk. The Green Party
(00:32):
wants Parliament to pass a solar loan scheme before the election,
given that Labor and National now both support the idea
and principle. Mike Casey is the CEO of Rewiring alta
Or and joins me. Now, very good morning.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
To you, Kerrie.
Speaker 3 (00:46):
How are you well.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
I'm very well. This must be this is your golden age,
isn't it.
Speaker 3 (00:52):
It's a very exciting time to be in New Zealander.
I feel we're about to get some major shift in
the energy system that will finally benefit our people, something
that we've been talking about for a long time, and
I'm just thrilled that it seems to have transcended ideologies
now and it looks like most political parties in some
capacity are really getting behind what we've been advocating for
(01:13):
so it's a very exciting time.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
We've got a lot of wa aboutisms though coming through.
What about the fact that you still have to pay
for the lines and if the power companies aren't getting
as much money through the sale of electricity, if you will,
they will charge more to have that electricity line supplied
there to be used in times of need.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
Yeah, I think there is still a lot of work
that has to be done in the regulatory settings of
our energy system. We have an energy system that was
designed in the nineteen nineties before anyone had heard about
solar panels, and certainly no one had really ever thought
about storing energy and home batteries. But both these technologies,
when implemented correctly with the right settings, will massively reduce
(01:59):
the cost of the future infrastructure. So we often hear
this narrative that New Zealand's grid isn't good enough to
support the electrification of everything, and it needs to we
need to spend tens of billions of dollars on it.
But in all honesty, when you look at our grid now,
it's average utilization rate is only forty percent, which means
conceivably squeeze twice as much power into those existing poles
(02:21):
and wires. The problem is we all want to use
power at the same time, and so you know, incentivizing
battery adoption is one of the key ways that we
can avoid that from happening. And so that's one of
my big north stars at the moment is to really
make sure we build out an energy system that is
for the citizens of New Zealand rather than the shareholders
of the companies that currently deliver that energy, while at
(02:41):
the same time making sure that you know, we don't
while we look at the problems of New Zealand's electricity system,
we don't move away from the fact that actually half
of the energy in our economy runs off imported energy
from overseas and ultimately running on New Zealand made energy,
regardless of the problems that we currently have, is the
best solution for our economy and our people and our
energy security and all of the things.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
So, I mean, everyone talks about the batteries. For solar
power to be useful, it needs to be stored. That's cumbersome,
unsightly expensive to get the batteries.
Speaker 3 (03:14):
The short answer is that's coming down in price, but
also not really is the other answer there right where
in this interesting situation now where you can use your
solar to heat your hot water cylinder during the day,
and hot water you know, makes up thirty percent of
your annual electricity bill, and so there is an opportunity
to really start saving money even you know, when you're
(03:35):
not at home. The other big thing is, you know,
the cheapest batteries available to New Zealanders now come with
a free car, and so the ability to soak up
a lot of that solar using an electric vehicle is
another a massive opportunity for our people that essentially stops
us buying all this important energy from overseas. But it
(03:57):
is a little bit different for different people, right Some
people will require batteries in order to make it work,
others won't, And we've just got to work through and
realize that every household is just a little bit different,
and some people might not want a battery in their home,
and that is cool. Solar is probably still going to
actually have an economic benefit benefit for them.
Speaker 2 (04:13):
Anyway, I'm thinking about the renters, you know, they're not
going to be able to I know that it's a
bit like computers. When computers first came out, they were huge,
and they were cumbersome and they were ten thousand dollars
for your household computer. And now they're not. They're lightweight
and portable and everybody has them and they're relatively inexpensive.
But the batteries have got a way to go, given
that the cheapest one is about three and a half grand.
Speaker 3 (04:35):
Well, I think we've kind of missed the boat on
the media on this one a little bit when we
when you know, plug and Solar was announced. Because at
the same time that plug and Solar gets approved and
that is being able to go down to Bunnings and
buying a solar panel for four hundred dollars and plugging
it into your wall socket. We also now have plug
and batteries available and they're being used all over Europe.
(04:57):
And so the ability for you to be able to
charge a battery off a wall socket during that hour
of free power that your retailer might give you, or
charge that battery, use your plug in solar system and
then pushing it back into your home, you know during
those peak times when electricity is way more expensive, or
you know, choosing to run the dishwasher or the washing
machine off that battery with energy that you've stored really
(05:19):
really cheaply is a massive win. Again and again those
plug and batteries can be picked up and taken with
you when you move to your next rental property. So
this whole technology, what is available to the customer is
just it's just such an exciting time, I think, and
I think we're on the cusp of seeing something you know,
pretty revolutionary happen in New Zealand.
Speaker 2 (05:36):
Now do you think perhaps that because we are a
bit behind the eight ball, we're going to be able
to benefit from what other countries have done, perhaps a
hun of stakes they might have made, or better efficiencies
they've learned from one hundred percent.
Speaker 3 (05:51):
I mean in Australia's got forty percent rooftop solar penetration. They
started this journey, you know, in decades before we did.
It was under the John Howard regime that it started.
And of course what happened when you know they put
too much solar on the roofs is it flooded the
grid and caused the opposite of a shore your power
and overloaded things and pushed the voltage too high. We
can learn from that very easily. The Australians have now
(06:12):
solved that problem and we can look at them and learn,
you know, exactly how to do this effectively. And that
was also done at a time where batteries just were
not economical and now they are. And so with that
opportunity on the horizon, we can now learn from what
they've done and build out a far better system. The
amount of batteries that you know Australia has now installed,
it's hundreds and hundreds of thousands of batteries that have
(06:34):
been installed this year. You know, they've basically installed the
in homes, They've installed the capacity of the Humpy power
station in like eight months, and that just shows you
just how effective this is a lot of A little
is a lot. And I'm really keen to make sure
that you know, we take advantage of this as well,
because ultimately we actually probably have a better electricity system
(06:55):
for doing this than the Australians because we have all
this amazing hydro, whereas they still have to figure out
how to get off coal.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
Well, if only we could have another hydro, but the
Greens are opposed to that. They want green energy, but
they don't want a hydro, damn.
Speaker 3 (07:07):
And this is where we need to all pull up
our big boy and big girl pants and actually have
some conversations about what is in New Zealand's best interest,
because in order to get off the fifty percent of
the energy that we currently import to run our economy,
we need about twice as much electricity generation, and that
means everything needs to be on the table. I get
very excited about rooftop solar and farm solar because that
(07:29):
could go provide an awful lot of that energy, but
we also are going to need more big things. We're
going to need more wind farms, more solar farms, more
offshore wind, more geo thermal, and indeed probably more hydro.
And you know, this is why the narrative for New
Zealand is so important.
Speaker 2 (07:46):
Energy, especially if we're inviting data banks to come to
this country one hundred percent.
Speaker 3 (07:51):
It's you know, we've got ten million machines in New
Zealand that will probably end up getting electrified by twenty fifty.
We then twice as much electricity to run them. If
we're thinking about things like data censers, which could actually
have a huge economic benefit for New Zealand, then we're
going to have to figure out how to go beyond
just doubling the amount of electricity on the grid and
so all of this is really exciting. New Zealand made
energy is the ticket I believe to New Zealand's prosperity,
(08:15):
and so yes, I think everything has to be on
the table. Everything has externalities, and rather than just saying
no to everything, I think we need to get on
a better north star, which is just focusing on running
as much of our economy as we can off energy
that we can create ourselves.
Speaker 2 (08:29):
All Right, I thank you very much for your time.
I'm sure it won't be the last time we talked.
Mike Casey rewiring altered or CEO.
Speaker 1 (08:36):
For more from Kerry Wood and Mornings, listen live to
news talks. It'd be from nine am weekdays, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio
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