Seize the power

It’s not rocket science, but it is science. Solar panels on a commercial property can bring you energy costs down, says Mike Casey, CEO of Rewiring Aotearoa.

Casey has become a well-known advocate of electrification to make businesses more sustainable and more profitable. His Forest Lodge Orchard in Cromwell grows “Electric Cherries” on a property powered solely by electricity, some of which is solar energy captured and stored in batteries. His farm also sells energy back to the grid – a source of extra income.

ASB’s Future of Land Use report from May this year highlights this as a market example of transformational land use. Casey’s calculations make sense.

“It is simply the unit economics of energy. In many, many cases, financing new electric upgrades actually ends up being cheaper,” he says.

If you invest in electric machinery, solar panels can provide enough power over the course of a year to be well worth the investment. That’s why a rechargeable tractor on his farm has replaced a diesel machine.

Casey is not arguing that businesses should cut themselves off from the grid. But they can reduce the amount of electricity they take from the grid, which comes at a higher unit cost than they produce for themselves.

“What we are saying is that you should generate as much energy as you can, yourself.”

A hotel, for example could instal solar panels on the roof. These would not cover all its energy needs, but could provide an alternative to gas for heating water at a lower cost, some of the time, he says.

“The number one thing to do is to look at the unit cost per kWh on different energy sources, and at the different amounts of energy you use in different machines. Then figure out which is best to upgrade first. For hotels, that is probably getting off gas hot water onto electric hot water and then supplementing with solar power. If you drive a lot of cars in your business, it is probably to electrify your vehicles – running off the grid at first – followed by supplementing with solar.”

There is not one way to do it, Casey says, but the benefits are there for the taking.

“It depends on your existing machines and how much energy you are able to generate. If you have a lot of space, like on a farm, you should be going to town on solar.”

Mike Casey will be sharing his story and offering advice on how to transition your business to an all-electric model at the Climate Governance Forum in July.