Missed last month’s Rewiring Aotearoa talk? No problem! Join Mike Casey, CEO of Rewiring Aotearoa and New Zealand’s first electric cherry farmer, on 12th November at 5:30pm at the Sustainability Centre. He’ll explore how Waiheke’s industries, including vineyards, and our broader community can electrify to make huge savings and reduce reliance on fossil fuels. Don’t miss it! info@wrt.org.nz to register.

Mike Casey is an entrepreneur and cherry orchardist from Central Otago who has electrified all the machines on his farm and demonstrated how the transition away from diesel can save farmers tens of thousands each year and significantly reduce emissions. He is also the CEO of Rewiring Aotearoa, a New Zealand think/do tank dedicated to electrifying millions of fossil fuel machines across the motu as quickly as possible.

Rewiring Aotearoa’s Electric Homes report proved New Zealand had reached the electrification tipping point, where electric appliances and vehicles were cheaper than their fossil fuel equivalents over their lifetime, even with upfront costs and finance built in. The Electric Farms paper proved there are similar benefits for the rural sector if we can move away from diesel machinery and turn our farms into power plants. It showed New Zealand’s farmers could reduce their operational costs and emissions by going electric and generating a lot of their own electricity through solar and battery systems - and they can also create a new revenue stream by feeding electricity back into the grid at times of high demand.

“Whether in the home or on the farm, electrification is a real win-win. It’s not just the right environmental decision anymore, it’s the right economic decision. It’s a no-brainer.”

Casey is speaking at an Electrify Waiheke event on Nov 12th and will focus on the opportunities for the local wine industry to electrify and how Waiheke Island is the perfect place to create another powerful demonstration project that could speed up New Zealand's transition.

The event is hosted by the Waiheke Resources Trust and supports our collective efforts to enact our Waiheke Local Action Plan through collaboration and low-carbon community action. Waiheke has a collective goal of reducing our greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030 and achieving a net positive carbon footprint by 2040.