Something I have been wondering about for awhile that I would be interested in comments on.
Given the need for more renewable power to avoid using coal fired generators, along with the increasing pressure on the grid due to the influx of electric vehicles, it seems that the government urgently needs more renewable sources of energy.
Options such as building dams etc are incredibly expensive, environmentally damaging, and take many years to impliment.
Given those constraints, why doesn't the government introduce a scheme to heavily subsidise domestic solar power generation and storage? Especially for houses where that option would be effective.
This type of solution should be much faster to implement, and wouldn't have the environmental issues associated with other power generation options. Plus, it would also have the benefit of lowering power costs for consumers, and thus reduce their living costs. Imagine the impact on power generation if even say 30% of houses in NZ had solar panels and storage.
I believe there was some sort of subsidy scheme around solar a number of years back, but I don't think that is around anymore. But it seems like a sensible option given the costs of the alternatives. I just don't understand why it isn't happening already.
Minister Parker has in his drafting hand the ability to amend the new version of the RMA to specifically enable "renewable energy generation" in the text, rather than rely on the far weaker National Policy Statement on Renewable Energy Generation which TBF merely acts as a guide to local governments when evaluating such applications.
My suspicion is that Minister Woods will not be shaken out of her torpor to amend the Electricity Authority to expand its remit into something useful, until there is a further major blackout from renewables as occurred last year.
Until then we have just two weeks until the Carbon plan is showered with billions from the new Fund. Your guess is as good any what that will achieve in the mitigation v adaptation game.
"There are no subsidies or incentives in New Zealand for homeowners to install solar power systems. The Government did provide subsidies for solar hot water systems for a few years, but that was never applied to solar power."
I imagine there are a number of impediments, not least of which is the fact almost all of the materials will have to be imported….then there is capacity to install/maintain at the level you outline (30% of households = 600,000 units) and issues with grid stability.
It will be a slowly solved (if at all) problem I suspect, especially given we are likely returning to supporting our economy through population growth.
I have submitted to the Queenstown Lakes District Council saying that it should be compulsory for all new buildings to install solar when they are built.
I would have thought solar farms, or hydro dams, have a bigger footprint on the landscape than wind generators. Which of course still have a much smaller footprint than AGW.
Then there is tidal power. Ideal spot not far away.
Queenstown is about as far away from the ocean as you can get (unless you are suggesting the small tide that Lake Wakatipu has?). It's also very unsuitable for wind power for the immediate area, which would mean shifting electricity from Central or Northern Southland, and that starts to defeat the purpose.
Anyone know if grid tied solar or wind can be adapted to off grid if a quake takes out the grid connection?
There is a safety issue, that you don't want the solar or wind powering up the grid supply part during a grid power cut. Not nice to get zapped when you expect the line to be dead.
I have recall of a tv item about a solar farm with the panels set high enough that the cattle or sheep could graze round them and use their shade in the summer. I don't recall the name of the programme. Someone else may have better recall.
N.B.: There are large protests in Europe about the number of windmills planned as it also means that land is being made to concrete deserts. You might power your vehicle but you wont have anything to eat. (So to speak).
Recommendation is generally that residential housing should be 2 Km away. Low frequency noise can interfere with the health of people living close by. The effects are studied and we should not forget that we are not looking at a lot of time when data is collected.
I am all for alternative generation, but we don't need to but the baby out with the water. Calling concerns with a "swoosh" rubbish is not very constructive. I appreciate that you might have a firm point of view because it seems you were working close to Marsden point. Nonetheless, I stand by what I have written.
Go for a drive through the vast French countryside and you will see (but not hear) wind generators dotted all over the landscape…and no concrete in sight.
Pat, if you drive through the French countryside you should pick up a paper in the next town. You might read about the concerns of the folks that have to live near the turbines and farmers who lose arable land. Also, the blades need changing on occasions and give me a guess what happens with them? Yep, they are just deposited on the ground. How green is that!
I am all for Windmills but some reason and science has to apply. Unless you want to pay a gold bar for a kg of potatoes.
…foundations are usually simple concrete blocks called footings that are placed under building walls and columns, or in the case of wind turbines, beneath the tower.
A typical slab foundation for a 1 MW turbine would be approximately 15 m diameter and 1.5 – 3.5 m deep. Turbines in the 1 to 2 MW range typically use 130 to 240 m3 of concrete for the foundation. Multi-pile foundations are used in weaker ground conditions and require less concrete.
Your wind turbines are going to have a capacity factor of around maybe 20% in a good location. So you will need roughly 5 times more of them than your calculation suggests.
Then you need to consider that much of the land does not have a good wind potential or that some seasons can have weeks of low wind. Gets messy quickly.
Compare to biofuels which does require significant land use.
And. A large proportion of the best wind locations are not suitable for housing or farming. Steep and windswept, are places we use for sheep, or gorse.
NZ on a global scale has a reasonably good wind resource and getting the current annual contribution from around 4% to say 20% seems feasible and desirable.
Although given much of the easy, high productivity sites have already been utilised – it will probably take a covering a bit more land than you would imagine to get us even to 20%. And that assumes there is never any growth in total demand into the future.
On a global scale the picture is even less rosy – but given how we have seen Greenies shut down perfectly good nuclear power plants so as to intentionally burn more brown coal – I guess anything is possible.
They may but i suspect their solution will be more along the lines of large schemes (solar pumped hydro at Onslow?) implemented and controlled by the main sector players rather than individual set ups.
The time frames on fleet replacement may never come to fruition.
The Onslow project does look like it has potential Pat. But it is going to take time. With the lack if rainfall down South this year, we could really have done with this now:
Dry year storage—we are specifically investigating Lake Onslow given its ability to store up to 5-7TWh for dry year support
Intermittency back up—our existing hydro lakes can increase or decrease their output to offset the variation in wind or solar generation, but this capacity is limited. Pumped hydro could provide a form of back-up to ensure electricity supply and demand is met when generation from solar, wind and existing hydro are not enough.
I recall that the Green Party used to have a plan to install Solar panels on schools to act as cores for community produced electricity (less line loss). But that isn't even in the online precis of their clean energy policy anymore. Though there is proposed solar support more in line with what was discussed upthread:
1. We’ll upgrade all 63,000 social and community homes with solar panels and batteries
2. We’ll introduce grants to halve the price of installing solar in privately-owned homes, and offer grants and low-interest loans for businesses to transition to renewable energy
I imagine that; social and community homes, means Kaianga Ora (HNZ). I didn't trawl through the full detail pdf to find out. It all comes down to postelection numbers next year anyway.
Though the GP have always been good with other parties swiping their ideas, so long as the ill gets cured.
The solar on schools (and businesses) is an interesting one…I have seen a number of reports on instances and the overwhelming theme is they only partially offset use….some at very low levels, which highlights KJTs point about economy of scale, not to mention the fact a few major players are easier to coordinate than 10s of thousands individual installations.
I guess the GP might have crunched the numbers and found that the cost benefit analysis didn't stack up. I think it was more Hughes who was pushing for it, so with him out of Parliament these days, it has languished a bit.
It was certainly an ambitious scheme. But if the government can mandate the abolishing of coal burners in schools, they can certainly make funding conditional upon schools allowing them to install solar panels and batteries on their grounds. Especially since the schools would have first call on the subsidized power thus produced.
Weka had a point (somewhere) upthread about the fragility of the lines system. Which is certainly true in Dunedin where decades of underfunding (to prevent rates increases) have left the grid in a woeful state. Having a more distributed network would give more systematic resilience.
Solar on schools, reduces the cost of outgoings for the school,produces good surpluses over holidays and weekends,and a surplus back to the grid for the peak use ,(during the spring to autumn period) where you can reduce daytime hydro flows.
As more uptake comes on stream,then surpluses can be banked into community batteries (which essentially become local peakers) and reduces the high cost of distribution.
A major cost in installing PV solar is that you really need to run it through batteries and inverties unless you want to fry your old electrical gear. Did that to a keyboard up in a commune about a decade back – never did get another with quite the same tone bank settings. Though the tech has probably improved these last few years.
Anyway, it is still likely more efficient for a medium size structure such as a school to aggregate and distribute the local solar electricity network with good sized battery banks and true sine-wave inversions (rather than many budget setups with modified square-wave).
Excess could be shunted off to the grid more easily than with multiple small connections from individual houses. And likely get bulk discount on buyback to make that work out better too. Sure, maybe not as technically efficient as larger projects, but also avoiding lots of line-loss. More of an intermediate step.
Though Pandemic supply lines to this country might be too stretched to make this viable at present. Plus no one really seems to be advocating for it anymore.
Community batteries store the excess generation locally when households are at work etc.They return to the local grid for the peak flows .This reduces the need for local network upgrades,transmission loss etc.
There's a lot of unbuilt wind farms in Southland (you could say Southland is the Saudi Arabia of wind), that haven't been built because there's nothing apart from more coal to provide backup on the rare day's it's not blowing it's tits of along the south coast.
Onslow and / or the Tiwai hydrogen proposal will get those wind proposals going and I suspect a lot more. Could be an interesting period coming up for the South with the Green Hydrogen development leading to a dramatic expansion of the region's industrial sector.
That is a useful site Pat…thanks for the link. We've flirted with the idea of a hybrid system with battery back up for our wee place here in the Far North, but have been disappointed with the detail provided from the couple of 'quotes' we've had. $30,000 or a 5kw system…no idea of how many panels, batteries, brands etc. Most seem to be tied into some kind arrangement with a particular electricity retailer. The 'we're not sure if there will be over runs on installation until we start…' proviso, in small print at the bottom of the quote leaves me more than a little nervous. I did purchase a generator to keep freezers and our pumps running and have an 'ups' thingy as back up for the phone an internet.
And an update on this major solar power project… you'll be pleased to know that the crop of maize grown on this site was harvested a month or so ago, so I guess there has been solar energy utilized. Other than a sign and a chunky gravel carpark the sod-turning photo- op is as far as its gone.
I think individual solar good IF you can develop a system for your own use AND have some form of storage but despite the sales pitch the commercially available set ups still require considerable outlay and pay back periods are extensive….the costs increase considerably the moment it is grid tied.
Personally I would like to try to build a battery based system using DC only. Feed that with AC and covert to DC appliances at various voltage/amp. Almost everything i use is DC in their internal reality. Computers monitors, TVs, power tools, fans,
The exception appears to be heat generators like ovens, stove tops, heater, hot water…
Inverters are a waste of power. So are most of electric AC to DC adapters.
Then once that is running – look at alternate power supplies to feed DC batteries. Pointless having alternate power sources ifbyou are going to have major inefficiences in converting DC to AC to DC to charge a phone (for instance).
I wouldn’t bother feeding the grid when I had excess. The rates are pitiful against the equipment costs to do that. I would need the grid to get the electric ecosystem setup, and as a supplement.
Yes but most dont have the ability to create a bespoke system for themselves….and the moment you tie to the grid you are bound to use approved (and consequently) more expensive componentry, not to mention various fees.
A 12v system is common in many home designed systems often tied to 12v appliances.
Those who want individual households to install solar power, are ignoring efficiencies and economics of scale..
Individual small solar installations are many times more expensive and require more manufactured resources, than a large solar or wind installation.
Government money is better used in building larger scale sustainable generation, for everyone instead of subsidising upper middle class who can afford to add solar panels.
While we have a privatised electricity industry whose business model depends on keeping energy scarce and expensive, though!
The economics of roof solar have changed dramatically over the last few years. Two minutes of surfing showed this:
"Costs for solar energy systems have come down substantially over the past decade. A fully-installed system in 2008 could run you about $40,000 — now, prices are only a fraction of that amount. The cost for a solar system starts around $5,990."
There's no reason that large scale solar farm can't be virtual and spread over a hundred or thousand roof tops.
That's what Solar Zero have done, but their model is putting their panels on your roof, and giving you cheaper (maybe) power in lieu of rent.
I'd be interested in a more co-operative model where the property owner owns the panels and shares in a wholesale marketing organisation to sell their surplus energy
I agree, it makes more sense from an efficiency point of view to build large solar arrays. I have seen these type of installations in Germany.
A counter to that is that such installations would take a long time to go through the approval process, actually get built, and have supporting infrastructure built. Also, they use up huge amounts of land. In that respect, is the offset cost of the lost opportunity cost of alternative usages for the land taken up by solar arrays. For instance, lost opportunities for food production, or even using the land for planting native forests as a carbon-offset.
While subsidies for domestic solar installations would not be as efficient, they would provide much quicker sources of renewable energy and wouldn't need the same amount of supporting infrastructure as they would be using the infrastructure already in existence.
Perhaps, a solar subsidy arrangement could be an interim goal to fill the gap while more efficient solutions are implemented over a longer timeframe.
Yes I agree with your thoughts above and have done so for at least 20 years! I worked in the solar hot water side for awhile – before PV became more viable – and even then there were immense gains to be made both economically and environmentally. WA had a similar scheme – sunny days are the rule there, so an obvious source of energy. Traveling in the train south from Perth you will see house after house with solar panels. It was so popular that the WA Govt overran its budget and, as it was then a liberal govt, cut the scheme. But the die had been cast and there is still a good uptake on solar energy installation on new builds.
Many of the solar hot water systems installed in NZ are manufactured in WA – it was there that they were developed.
Israel mandates all new buildings to be fitted with solar energy and has done for decades, obviously to reduce its reliance on imported fossil fuels.
Yes you are correct in that roof-top solar has far more penetration in Australia than NZ. As a guess I would say the rate is between 5 – 8 times higher.
Still the reality is that Australia has one of the best solar and wind power potential anywhere on the planet – and it is still a non-trivial task to turn off all the coal until you have solved the storage problem.
Last year saw Australians install rooftop solar like never before, with 40% more installed in 2021 than in 2020. Solar system installations now make up 7% of the energy going into the national electricity grid.
[…]
But such a dramatic surge in solar output also poses challenges for Australia’s power system for two main reasons.
It results in increased periods of large oversupply when weather conditions favour solar energy. This leads to energy being wasted due to the need for solar curtailment – when a solar system shuts down or stops exporting energy to the grid to counter the energy spike.
On the other hand, there is little solar generation during peak demand hours in the morning and evening. This requires more expensive generators to run.
These are huge problems from a market operations perspective, as the pressure on the system may result in blackouts and disruptions. It also creates large price swings for retailers, which then can increase costs for consumers. As a result, we may see it become more expensive to decarbonise the national energy market.
I came up with a hair brained scheme a while back where government rolls out solar that pays for itself.
Put solar on state housing and recoup the costs from tenants paying their power bills – but at the same time (calculated by their average/historic use) offer them some of the savings (will make buy in much easier) from the savings generated. Win – Win.
You could roll out a portion of it, show the bank the payments coming in, and get finance for the next portion. Very little govt spending required if they shuffle their cards right.
Many other government properties could do with the retrofit too.
It would make the government a major power generator in short order. And yes, it would certainly help take the pressure off our systems.
there was talk some time back of us manufacturing solar here. I have no idea why that's not happening, it was another no-brainer.
Given the need for more renewable power to avoid using coal fired generators, along with the increasing pressure on the grid due to the influx of electric vehicles, it seems that the government urgently needs more renewable sources of energy.
Here's what the sustainable and resilient solution looks like, see if you can spot the pattern:
use less power
stop wasting power
retrofit existing houses with passive solar tech/design
all new builds required to have passive solar tech/design (space and water heating in particular, doesn't have to be PassivHaus although that is one example)
retrofit existing houses with active solar (panels and water heaters), grid tied where appropriate
all new builds required to have active solar (panels and water heaters), grid tied where appropriate
build neighbourhood power generation that will withstand climate, quake, tsunami events (eg if the grid goes down, power can still be generated and reticulated locally)
build larger scale district power generation, as above
don't build any more Muldoon-esque power schemes unless there is a compelling reason to and that can be done with a) full community input and consultation and b) minimal environmental impact
What that does is use less resources, require less maintanence, create less pollution, make NZ more self sufficient, make local areas, neighbourhoods and households more self sufficient and resilient going into our climate and quake future.
outside my lane about what would work, but couple that with manufacturing components in NZ as much as possible.
At the moment, we have some pretty important infrastructure that relies on overseas manufacturers for replacement parts. Consider current supply line interruptions magnified, and what would happen if your town electricity or supply stopped working because something broke. How much redundancy do we have?
I can't say I disagree with any of that Weka. It just seems to make more sense compared to anything else which will be expensive, long to implement, and damaging to the environment.
I imagine such a solution would also have good buy-in from the public who would directly benefit from such a concept.
It's a good question that some of us have been asking for a while now. Would have to look up exactly when, but the Greens pushed quite some time ago (pre Key?) for solar install subsidies that would also have had the effect of upscaling solar business in NZ and thus lowering prices. You can understand why some of us are frustrated with NZ voters.
Further to my comment, probably the only point I would disagree with is that I don't think that the government should be subsidising or requiring (in the case of new builds) every house should have solar energy. That is because not all houses are oriented to efficiently take advantage of solar.
The optimal orientation is east-west oriented houses (with the exposed roof facing north). So, perhaps at the consenting side of the equation the approval authority could decide whether the orientation of the house qualifies for the government subsidy or not so that taxpayer money is used in the most efficiently.
Ha! Have you seen the new builds in Auckland. 8 townhouses crammed literally side-by-side on a section which previously contained 1 house.
Sections are covered to 95% of area with housing (and the rest is driveway).
Under the new government intensive building plans – town planners will have little if any control over what is built where.
Really. I invite you to take a look at the intensive housing going in along the main transit corridors (but still suburban streets) in Auckland.
Literally 4 doors down from me (side street connection to a main road) they are building 8 townhouses on the site where they've removed one house. They're 3 story – in order to get the most density on the site possible.
And the building is right from one boundary to the driveway (which is on the other boundary)
The only non-built space is the driveway.
This may have required a resource consent (i.e. isn't a normally allowed activity) – but they are routinely being rubber-stamped in Auckland's drive for intensification along PT corridors (and linked areas).
This is repeated on building-site after building-site across the suburbs I drive through.
For example, 50% max. building coverage on a site of 10 m by 20 m (200 meter squared) means the building footprint cannot be more than 100 meter squared, e.g. 6 m by 16 m (96 meter squared). To you that may look like 95% while in actual fact it is (only) 48%. (NB there are all sorts of boundary requirements, but this is just a simple example to illustrate your optical illusion)
In the real world: Building from one side of the site to the other (excluding the driveway), building from front berm to to back boundary.
I don't see in what rational world that can be described as 48% of the site.
I acknowledge that this may have required a resource consent for an exemption to the standard rules. However, as I said, these are clearly being routinely granted.
What I'm describing is anything but an isolated incident.
And the new legislation is specifically designed to allow 3x3story houses on the site where previously 1 was permitted.
Go argue with your calculator and work out the building footprint after you have measured yourself those sites with new housing builds (incl. terraced houses and apartments) that, in your mind, occupy 95% of the total site area. You may want to ask permission before you enter those properties. Alternatively, you could tell us the exact area you’re talking about; Auckland Council has these very handy maps and other handy data …
What you think you see in the real world is in your head.
I acknowledge that this may have required a resource consent for an exemption to the standard rules. However, as I said, these are clearly being routinely granted.
What I'm describing is anything but an isolated incident.
Spot the ambiguity if not contradiction.
And the new legislation is specifically designed to allow 3x3story houses on the site where previously 1 was permitted.
What does this have to do with building footprint maxima?
The new law requires Auckland Council to allow medium-density housing (3 houses of 3 stories high on the site currently required for one) – as a default across most of their area.
I expect this drive for intensification to continue. And the cheapest way for developers to do this, is what they're already doing: cramming as many townhouses as possible on a single site.
This amendment to the RMA does two things. Firstly, it requires tier 1 councils in Auckland, and greater Hamilton, Tauranga, Wellington and Christchurch to change their planning rules so most of their residential areas are zoned for medium density housing.
In other words, it has not happened yet (“from August 2022”), so you cannot have seen it yet, whatever it is that you think you saw.
No. What I'm seeing is resource consent variations over site-coverage being routinely granted to enable Auckland Council’s goals of intensification along PT corridors.
The point I was making is that this intensification (resulting in virtually zero un-built-on land on the site) will increase (and become more widespread) when the new legislation comes into effect.
At least you agree that the new legislation has not yet come into effect. Now, can you tell us what the building coverage limits are that are allegedly “resulting in virtually zero un-built-on land on the site” in the new legislation, which by your reckons is already happening in Auckland? You’re repeating the same stupid line but with not a shred of support.
They were not economical then,its only in the last 3-4 years that costs have decreased substantially as large scale manufacturing became more cost effective.
Private solar installations are already subsidised in a roundabout way. My son who has a PhD in Battery Technology countered my arguments about more house solar and why werent the prices paid for supply to the grid closer to what we pay. The reply was that there are a few unique aspects to NZs electricity systems, and the cost of production of is only about 7cents a kw, the distribution is the killer.
1, most of the rest of the world needs electricity to cool buildings in the summer when solar and wind is a lot more efficient, US and Europe heat their houses and factories with gas or oil and it will take quite sometime to phase out up to a billion systems. We on the other hand use electricity for heating in the winter and don't cool very many buildings in summer, our winter solution is to put on another bloody jersey, one area where our Scots and Irish heritage favours conservation!
2, the majority of the cost of electricity is in the distribution, and NZ is very difficult terrain to manage. I live 25kms from a large SI town yet between here and there there are tens of millions of dollars of installations, a lot disquised as normal houses used to manage voltage and other aspects, all of which require a huge amount of maintenance, again an almost unique NZ problem, because of the long distances and consequently a fraction of the consumers to pay for it compared to other countries.
Heres the political problem, more houses with solar means less consumers to pay for the distribution costs and that system is vital, small private solar installations are very prone to lack of sunlight and wind just when you need the power hence the need for most to be connected to the grid and the nessecity to pay the same as someone without solar supplementation. Just because you may ride a bike a lot of the time you still may need a car to do what cannot be managed on a bike and I'm pretty sure no government is going to subsidise the capital cost of a car for you just because it sits idle until you need it.
There are many, many other complications, but one of his interesting comments was that the future will see that a much larger proportion of the worlds industrial production will occur 10-20 degrees either side of the Equator in highly automated factories with few staff because of the amount of sunlight available ( closer to the sun ) and the reliability of tropical winds for cheaper energy and shorter freight distances, ( not by much but everything helps ).
Hey tsmithfield, do you want to walk back the lying propaganda you posted yesterday about another Russian ship being sunk? No evidence whatsoever except the lies you picked up from Western media. It didn't happen, just like the Russian Generals killed in action .. all bullshit .. You really need to learn how to do real research.
Yes – the whole invasion is a Nazi fake. Real research would show that Putin was correct all along when he told everyone back in Feb that Russia was never going to invade Ukraine.
Thanks for this. I met Paul just the once at Masterton Rail station on his way into the Tararuas and got to chat with him for a while. Yes he is a legend – quite well known.
I know for certain they took out a landing craft type boat as pointed out by Red below. So, that could be a source of confusion.
I will reserve my position on the Makarov because I haven't seen any firm evidence that the Makarov is actually around still. I have seen several photos put up by pro-Russian sources on Twitter, apparently of the Makarov in port, or some other location after the attack. But, those pictures have been easily identified as fakes. Hence, I will wait until there is actually firm evidence that the Makarov is actually still around before conceding anything.
If you are referring to the article linked to by Red Logix above, you obviously didn't read the part where it said:
"Satellite photos analysed by the Associated Press show the aftermath of an apparent Ukrainian drone strike on Friday on Russian positions on Snake Island, with thick black smoke rising overhead."
So maybe you need to update your technique for sorting fact from fiction.
tsmithfield the Russian frigate was and is nowhere near Snake Island, the source of another PR stunt gone wrong by Ukraine, remember the valiant soldiers who all actually surrendered to the Russians .. It is you that needs to update your technique for sorting fact from bullshit. You show a twitter feed as proof .. ha ha ha ha ha ha. If you want to actually educate yourself about what is happening in Ukraine I can give you some real independant analysis from actual experts, not armchair experts.
'Actual experts' who can tell us this 'so called 'war' is all just a Ukrainian PR stunt right? Real research would show Russian soldiers being welcomed with hot food, flowers and enthusiastic fucks by happy locals glad to be free of Nazis oppressing them.
Red Logix you need to drink less alcohol or inbibe less on substances before making comments which defy logic .. read your above post and get help friend!
If the ship has been damaged enough to require that sort of attention, then it could be out of the game for quite awhile, even if it is still floating.
Belladonna .. au contraire you need to provide actual proof of the frigate being damaged, I don't have to prove anything, because nothing happened except on a keyboard spewing propaganda and lies .. show me the money shot boys!
RedLogix .. come on Man pull yourself together, you simply don't make sense or offer an argument .. You say .. The Great Lord Putin has promised a wonderful victory over the hordes of lying Nazi monkeys pounding out endless lies and filth on their keyboards! Explain this nonsense?
An apolitical energy expert told me that solar is marginal in NZ but great in Australia. Aussie have a lot of sun when they need the most energy (in summer to run aircons). Whereas in NZ we need enrgy for winter heating and that's when there's too little sun.
Solar in NZ is good for water heating (which is a waste of electricity) but not so good for making electricity.
I have rooftop solar thermal hot water and photovoltaic panels and a battery so I speak from experience. There is a hybrid inverter that automatically sends surplus production to the grid and draws from the grid when the battery is at my reserve value. It can disconnect from the grid in an outage and provide power from the battery and reconnect in phase when the grid is back up. This is a Harrison's system and they have backed up their product with appropriate service. The cost is worth bearing for those who have the resources; our total electricity bill last year was little more than $300, and includes charging a Mitsubishi PHEV for local driving. I've long advocated for a government loan guarantee for such installations with savings on electricity applied to amortising the loan. This requires a suitable payback tariff for energy sent to the grid. This is not available from all electricity retailers and is not sufficient from others, but even then it works given some time. Other comments about large scale installations and upgraded distribution systems are correct and will be necessary for the progress of NZ into the rest of this century. Getting the government policies needed to accomplish this is an ongoing task.
Pete Buttigieg does a good job naming the "high water mark" of freedom within both the likely reversal of Roe and the Florida State "don't ask don't tell" law.
It's 6 minutes but he does a good job, noting his own point that 10 years ago it would have been laughable that he be able to discuss that he is married to a man and has two children, and that now such a statement is to be deemed only suitable for adults.
Yes, slay Buttigieg for that. Ponder his views and ways as illustrated in that 2019 link and that performance (above) on YouTube and the proven views and ways of Donald Trump. Which one of those two would have better qualities and less negatives to be President after 2024?
So it turns out that Omicron is just as severe as the previous Covid variants. It was all media bollocks from the business lobby to support opening up.
Interesting. That was the assumption that I made when I looked at those original studies on omicron.
They looked far too coarse grained for a population that was partially immunised and had treatments. Just simple bean counting without looking at nuance.
If you look closely at the NZ hospialisation demographic rates for unvaccinated where known (after the delta cases passed through), they look like Italy in early 2020.
Exactly. The continuous repetition of "more infectious but milder" smacked of an orchestrated campaign by business interests. It was never backed by the WHO.
Nope. The speculators and investors are unlikely to be hurt. Pretty much all of them have a healthy buffer of equity. And losses are only losses once you sell – so they're motivated to hang on to the property – for at least the 10 years required to escape the bright line test. Of course, in the meantime, they're also highly motivated to ratchet up the rent every year…
The people it clobbers are the new homeowners – with mortgages less than 3 years old. *If* they can hang on, they'll be OK. Banks have been stress-testing mortgage repayments at 7-8% over the last 2+ years before loaning money.
But anyone who is obliged to sell (marriage break up, illness, job loss, etc.) will take a hammering – and will probably come up with negative equity.
There will be some mortgagee sales – but everyone (banks included) wants to keep them to a minimum.
No. Banks very, very rarely require an infusion of equity for existing loans – where there is a strong payment history.
Unless you have some evidence that this past practice is about to change.
Of course, if you want a further loan (say for renovations) or want to shift to interest-only, then they'll force a revaluation.
But banks don't want to force a sale — they'll make a heck of a lot more money, long term, off the mortgage repayments.
You'd have to have property market crash of epic proportions for them to be moving into negative equity.
Property investors with portfolios older than 2 years – will have 'benefited' from the capital increase – and, again it would take an epic property crash to shift their loan into negative equity.
Highly leveraged property investors are pretty much a thing of the past in NZ.
Approximately 31% of mortgaged properties, or 47% of the value of outstanding loans, were found to be in negative equity at the end of 2010.[76]
As of September 2011, Central Bank figures show that 8.1% of private residential mortgage accounts are in arrears for more than 90 days – up from 7.2% at the end of June 2011.[77]
As of August 2012, more than 22% of Irish mortgages are in arrears or have been restructured.[78]
In the first 10 months of 2011, 8,692 houses were completed. This compares to 76,954 in 2004, 80,957 in 2005, 93,419 in 2006, 78,027 in 2007, 51,724 in 2008, 26,420 in 2009 and 14,602 in 2010.[79]
The Irish National Debt has significantly increased: Ireland's ratio of General Government Debt to GDP at the end of 2009 is estimated to have been 65.2%. The revised estimate for General Government Debt to GDP ratio at the end of 2010 is estimated to have been 92.5%. The forecast for General Government Debt to GDP ratio at the end of 2011 is estimated to be 105.5%.[79]
Finding it very curious that there have been numerous debates here on who is, should or can be a "woman". Over the last few days there has been much publicity about the nasty attack on Nadia Lim in the NBR by the Henry person. Pleasing to see all the support she has had from numerous people. But none or very little comment here!
The CEO Simon Henry is a misogynist, and has been outed.
Nadia is self made, but her business took advantage of shareholders and holes in the current system through pumping possible profits, selling shares and realising wealth where other investors won't get much.
So support for her position is muted, as the man is an egg, but his premise of overhyping the shares was real. imo.
Well I’m not going to get too excited about reality TV participants and their subsequent business activities–but Mr Henry deserves the shower of shit he is getting. He could have just stuck to his business grumble, without invoking misogyny and racial slurs.
“There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen.”
― Vladimir Ilyich Lenin
Oh that were so in NZ! The reality is NZ is a venal money trench for the elite and petit bourgeoisie, a neo liberal state in legislation and reality, so no revolution just yet. But change is a coming…one way or another. Generation rent and student loan and alienated working class know that, it is a matter of what the direction is.
The Convoys and Groundswells had their go at being that change, but have ‘blown their bags’ to use an old crudity, as far as can be seen, they had their chance.
A new political movement (not just Parliamentary Party) is certainly needed to challenge and retire neo liberalism. But given all the requirements to register new parties and do community organising and activism, that should probably be kicked out to the 2026 General Election. There are ultimately few ‘organisational solutions to major political problems.’
But for 2023 certainly the Greens and Te Pāti Māori should be the target for pressure to support working class friendly policy in case they are able to form a Government with Labour. A combination of tactics–turn Green and Māori left as possible, and strategy–keep the dirty filthy natzos out, as the ground is prepared for a generational break through in 2026.
This country is a Tale of Two Cities and needs people power to turn it around, passivity and compliant consumers have had their day.
To Labour and the Scientists Thanks for a great fight against Mico plasma bovis. In spite of the refusal to comply by some rednecks, we are almost free of this scourge.
Next will be the tropical blackworm which is able to demolish a garden in days.
"Biosecurity New Zealand is closely monitoring reports of a Foot and Mouth disease (FMD) outbreak in Indonesia, says Biosecurity New Zealand Deputy Director-General Stuart Anderson."
"We will review the latest information from Indonesia and boost our already strong measures at the border if required.
"An audit last year of Indonesia's supply chain for palm kernel, which is used as a feed supplement in New Zealand, showed it was meeting strong import health requirements."
There is a Turning Away happening in the US – not the Floyd version, but arguably a response to it. When working no longer gets one anywhere, that old tune in, turn on, & drop out looks better every day.
Sad, sad thread on how people were and are treated like dust in Russia.
1/ The following thread is an attempt to explain Russia(TM) to you from my Soviet-Russian-speaking-Ukrainian-Jewish perspective. I didn't eat wisdom with spoons. Please add and correct!
2/ We are currently seeing many Russians on the streets of Russian cities in heroic protest against the war. Navalnyj said "If we have to clog up their prisons with our bodies, then we'll do it".
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). Climate change is everywhere. And when something's everywhere it can feel like it's nowhere. So how do we get our heads ...
Its a law like gravity: whenever a right-wing government is elected, they start attacking democracy. And now, after talking to their Republican and Tory and Fidesz chums at the International Democracy Union forum in Wellington, National is doing it here, announcing plans to remove election-day enrolment. Or, to put it ...
Yesterday Winston Peters focussed his attention on the important matter at hand. Tweeting. Like the former, and quite possibly next, orange POTUS, from whom he takes much of his political strategy, Winston is an avid X’er.His message didn’t resemble an historic address this time. In fact it was more reminiscent ...
Buzz from the Beehive A significant decline in natural gas production has given Resources Minister Shane Jones an opportunity to reiterate his enthusiasm for the mining and burning of coal. For good measure, he has praised an announcement from Genesis Energy that it will resume importing coal. He and Energy ...
“Follow the money” is the classic directive to journalists trying to understand where power and influence lie in society. In terms of uncovering who influences various New Zealand political parties and governments, it therefore pays to look at who is funding them. The political parties are legally obliged to make ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Here is my subjective ranking on a “most-left” to “most-right” scale of most of our major NZ Universities, with some anecdotal (and at times amusing) evidence to back up the claim.Extreme Left Auckland University of TechnologyEvidenceThe ...
Eric Crampton writes – I hadn’t thought about this one until a helpful email showed up in my inbox.It’s pretty obvious that income tax thresholds should automatically index with inflation – whether to anchor the thresholds in percentiles of the income distribution, or to anchor against a real ...
Jacqui Van Der Kaay writes – Parliament’s speaker had no option but to refer Green MP Julie Anne Genter to the Privileges Committee for her behaviour in the House last Wednesday evening. The incident, in which she crossed the floor to wave a book and yell at National ...
Gary Judd writes – The Dean of the law school at the Auckland University of Technology is someone called Khylee Quince. I have been sent her social media posting in which she has, over the LawNews headline “Senior King’s Counsel files complaint about compulsory tikanga Maori studies for ...
Cleo Paskal writes – WASHINGTON, D.C.: ‘Many of us have received phone calls from [the opposing camp] telling them if they join the camp they will be given projects for their wards and $300,000 [around US$35,000] each’, says former Malaita Premier Daniel Suidani. The elections in Solomon Islands aren’t ...
With hindsight, it was inevitable that (a) Hamas would agree to the ceasefire deal brokered by Egypt and Qatar and that ( b) Israel would then immediately launch attacks on Rafah, regardless. We might have hoped the concessions made by Hamas would cause Israel to desist from slaughtering thousands more ...
Placards and mourners outside the Kilbirnie Mosque following the Christchurch terror attack: MSD has terminated the Kaiwhakaoranga service, which has been used by 415 families since the attacks. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The Government’s pledge to only cut ‘back office’ staff rather than ‘frontline’ services is on increasingly shaky ground, with ...
There’s been a few smaller public transport announcements over the last week or so that I thought I’d cover in a single post. Fareshare I’ve long called for Auckland Transport to offer a way to enable employer-subsidised public transport options. The need for this took on even more importance ...
Parliament’s speaker had no option but to refer Green MP Julie Anne Genter to the Privileges Committee for her behaviour in the House last Wednesday evening. The incident, in which she crossed the floor to wave a book and yell at National Minister Matt Doocey, reflects poorly on Genter and ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Who likes being sneered at? Nobody. Worse yet, when the sneerer has their facts all wrong, and might well be an idiot.The sneer in question is The adults are in charge now, and it is a sneer offered in retort to criticism of this new Government, no matter how well ...
When in government, Labour pushed to extend the Parliamentary term to four years, to reduce accountability and our ability to vote out a bad government. And now, they're trying to do it through the member's ballot, with a Four-Year Parliamentary Term Legislation Bill. The bill at least requires a referendum ...
A ballot for a single Member's Bill was held today, and the following bill was drawn: Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill (Hūhana Lyndon) The bill would prevent the government from stealing Māori land in breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. It ...
Simeon Brown, alongside Wayne Brown, is favouring a political figleaf now in exchange for loading up tens of millions in extra interest costs on Auckland ratepayers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s is pushing back hard at suggestions from Local Government Minister Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown ...
Buzz from the Beehive One headline-grabber from the Beehive yesterday was the OECD’s advice that the government must bring the Budget deficit under control or face higher interest rates. Another was the announcement of a $1.9 billion “investment” in Corrections over the next four years. In the best interests of ...
Chris Trotter writes – Had Zheng He’s fleet sailed east, not west, in the early Fifteenth Century, how different our world would be. There is little reason to suppose that the sea-going junks of the Ming Dynasty, among the largest and most sophisticated sailing vessels ever constructed, would have failed ...
David Farrar writes – Two articles give a useful contrast in balance. Both seek to be neutral explainer articles. This one in the Herald on Social Investment covers the pros and cons nicely. It links to critical pieces and talks about aspects that failed and aspects that are more ...
The tikanga regulations will compel law students to be taught that a system which does not conform with the rule of law is nevertheless law which should be observed and applied…Gary Judd KC writes – I have made a complaint to Parliament’s Regulation ...
The future of Te Huia, the train between Hamilton and Auckland, has been getting a lot of attention recently as current funding for it is only in place till the end of June. The government initially agreed to a five year trial, through to April 2026, but that was subject ...
TL;DR: Hamas has just agreed to Israel’s ceasefire plan. Nelson hospital’s rebuild has been cut back to save money. The OECD suggests New Zealand break up network monopolies, including in electricity. PM Christopher Luxon’s news conference on a prison expansion announcement last night was his messiest yet.Here’s my top six ...
A homicide in Ponsonby, a manhunt with a killer on the run. The nation’s leader stands before a press conference reassuring a frightened nation that he’ll sort it out, he’ll keep them safe, he’ll build some new prison spaces.Sorry what? There’s a scary dude on the run with a gun ...
Hi,I know it’s been awhile since there’s been any Webworm merch — and today that all changes!Over the last four months, I’ve been working with New Zealand artist Jess Johnson to create a series of t-shirts, caps and stickers that are infused with Webworm DNA — and as of right ...
The OECD’s chief economist yesterday laid it on the line for the new Government: bring the deficit under control or face higher Reserve Bank interest rates for longer. And to bring the deficit under control, she meant not borrowing for tax cuts. But there was more. Without policy changes—introducing a ...
After a hiatus of over four months Selwyn Manning and I finally got it together to re-start the “A View from Afar” podcast series. We shall see how we go but aim to do 2 episodes per month if possible. … Continue reading → ...
In 2008, the UK Parliament passed the Climate Change Act 2008. The law established a system of targets, budgets, and plans, with inbuilt accountability mechanisms; the aim was to break the cycle of empty promises and replace it with actual progress towards emissions reduction. The law was passed with near-universal ...
Buzz from the Beehive Local Water Done Well – let’s be blunt – is a silly name, but the first big initiative to put it into practice has gone done well. This success is reflected in the headline on an RNZ report:District mayors welcome Auckland’s new water deal with ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate ConnectionsA farmworker cleans the solar panels of a solar water pump in the village of Jagadhri, Haryana Country, India. (Photo credit: Prashanth Vishwanathan/ IWMI) Decisions made in India over the next few years will play a key role in global ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – The Children’s Minister, Karen Chhour, intends to repeal Section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 because it creates conflict between claimed Crown Treaty obligations and the child’s best interests. In her words, “Oranga Tamariki’s governing principles and its act should be colour ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. ...
Brian Easton writes – This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be (I will report on them ...
TL;DR:Winston Peters is reported to have won a budget increase for MFAT. David Seymour wanted his Ministry of Regulation to be three times bigger than the Productivity Commission. Simeon Brown is appointing a Crown Monitor to Watercare to protect the Claytons Crown Guarantee he had to give ratings agencies ...
The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. Carr had made highly ...
I could be a florist'Round the corner from Rye LaneI'll be giving daisies to craziesBut, baby, I'll wrap you up real safe Oh, I can give you flowers At the end of every dayFor the center of your table, a rainbowIn case you have people 'round to stay Depending on ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to May 12 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Finance Minister Nicola Willis will give a pre-budget speech on Thursday.Parliament sits from Question Time at 2pm on ...
The price of the foreign affairs “reset” is now becoming apparent, with Defence set to get a funding boost in the Budget. Finance Minister Nicola Willis has confirmed that it will be one of the few votes, apart from Health and Education and possibly Police, which will get an increase ...
A listing of 26 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 28, 2024 thru Sat, May 4, 2024. Story of the week "It’s straight out of Big Tobacco’s playbook. In fact, research by John Cook and his colleagues ...
Yesterday I received come lovely feedback following my Star Wars themed newsletter. A few people mentioned they’d enjoyed reading the personal part at the beginning.I often begin newsletters with some memories, or general thoughts, before commencing the main topic. This hopefully sets the mood and provides some context in which ...
April 30 was going to be the day we’d be calling Mum from London to wish her a happy birthday. Then it became the day we would be going to St. Paul's at Evensong to remember her. The aim of the cathedral builders was to find a way to make their ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Can’t remember the last book by a Kiwi author you read? Think the NZ government should spend less on the arts in favor of helping the homeless? If so, as far as Newsroom is concerned, you probably deserve to be called a cultural ignoramus ...
Eric Crampton writes – Grudges are bad. Better to move on. But it can be fun to keep a couple of really trivial ones, so you’re not tempted to have other ones. For example, because of the rootkit fiasco of 2005, no Sony products in our household. ...
A new report warns an estimated third of the adult population have unmet need for health care.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāHere’s the six key things I learned about Aotaroa’s political economy this week around housing, climate and poverty:Politics - Three opinion polls confirmed support for PM Christopher Luxon ...
Today is May the fourth. Which was just a regular day when my mother took me to see the newly released Star Wars at the Odeon in Rotorua. The queue was right around the corner. Some years later this day became known as Star Wars Day, the date being a ...
Buzz from the Beehive Much more media attention is being paid to something Winston Peters said about former Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr than to a speech he delivered to the New Zealand China Council. One word is missing from the speech: AUKUS. But AUKUS loomed large in his considerations ...
Is the economy in another long stagnation? If so, why?This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be ...
The annual list of who's been bribing our politicians is out, and journalists will no doubt be poring over it to find the juiciest and dirtiest bribes. The government's fast-track invite list is likely to be a particular focus, and we already know of one company on the list which ...
In the weeks after the October 7 Hamas attacks on Southern Israel I wrote about the possible 2nd, 3rd and even 4th order effects of the conflict. These included new fronts being opened in the West Bank (with Hamas), Golan … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – It is one of the oldest truisms that there is never a good time for MPs to get a pay rise. This week’s announcement of pay raises of around 2.8% backdated to last October could hardly have come at a worse time, with the ...
David Farrar writes – Newshub reports: Newshub can reveal a fresh allegation of intimidation against Green MP Julie-Anne Genter. Genter is subject to a disciplinary process for aggressively waving a book in the face of National Minister Matt Doocey in the House – but it’s not the first time ...
The Treasury has published a paper today on the global productivity slowdown and how it is playing out in New Zealand: The productivity slowdown: implications for the Treasury’s forecasts and projections. The Treasury Paper examines recent trends in productivity and the potential drivers of the slowdown. Productivity for the whole economy ...
Winston Peters’ comments about former Australian foreign minister look set to be an ongoing headache for both him and Luxon. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts and , along with regular guests on Gaza and ...
These puppet strings don't pull themselvesYou're thinking thoughts from someone elseHow much time do you think you have?Are you prepared for what comes next?The debating chamber can be a trying place for an opposition MP. What with the person in charge, the speaker, typically being an MP from the governing ...
The land around Lyme Regis, where Meryl Streep once stood, in a hood, on the Cobb, is falling into the sea.MerylThe land around Lyme Regis, around the Cobb that made it rich, has always been falling slowly but surely into the sea. Read more ...
Photo by Jari Hytönen on UnsplashIt’s that new day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when and I co-host our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm. Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news ...
Buzz from the Beehive Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters was bound to win headlines when he set out his thinking about AUKUS in his speech to the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. The headlines became bigger when – during an interview on RNZ’s Morning Report today – he criticised ...
The Post reports on how the government is refusing to release its advice on its corrupt Muldoonist fast-track law, instead using the "soon to be publicly available" refusal ground to hide it until after select committee submissions on the bill have closed. Fast-track Minister Chris Bishop's excuse? “It's not ...
As pressure on it grows, the livestock industry’s approach to the transition to Net Zero is increasingly being compared to that of fossil fuel interests. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above ...
The New Zealand Herald reports – Stats NZ has offered a voluntary redundancy scheme to all of its workers as a way to give staff some control over their “future” amidst widespread job losses in the public sector. In an update to staff this morning, seen by the Herald, Statistics New Zealand ...
On Werewolf/Scoop, I usually do two long form political columns a week. From now on, there will be an extra column each week about music and movies. But first, some late-breaking political events:The rise in unemployment numbers for the March quarter was bigger than expected – and especially sharp ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: TVNZ says it is dealing with about 50 formal complaints over its coverage of the latest 1News-Verian political poll, with some viewers – as well as the Prime Minister and a former senior Labour MP – critical of the tone of the 6pm report. ...
Muriel Newman writes – When Meridian Energy was seeking resource consents for a West Coast hydro dam proposal in 2010, local Maori “strenuously” objected, claiming their mana was inextricably linked to ‘their’ river and could be damaged. After receiving a financial payment from the company, however, the Ngai Tahu ...
The Green Party is welcoming the announcement by the Minister Responsible for RMA Reform Chris Bishop to approve most of the Wellington City Council’s District Plan recommendations. ...
David Seymour has failed to get the sweeping cuts he wanted to the free and healthy school lunch programme, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
Hon Willie Jackson has been invited by the Oxford Union to debate the motion “This House Believes British Museums are not Very British’ on May 23rd. ...
Green Party MP Hūhana Lyndon says her Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill is an opportunity to right some past wrongs around the alienation of Māori land. ...
A senior, highly respected King’s Counsel with decades of experience in our law courts, Gary Judd KC, has filed a complaint about compulsory tikanga Māori studies for law students - highlighting the utter depths of absurdity this woke cultural madness has taken our society. The tikanga regulations will compel law ...
The Government needs to be clear with the people of the Nelson Marlborough region about the changes it is considering for the Nelson Hospital rebuild, Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
Your Excellency Ambassador Meredith, Members of the Diplomatic Corps and Ambassadors from European Union Member States, Ministerial colleagues, Members of Parliament, and other distinguished guests, Thank you everyone for joining us. Ladies and gentlemen - In diplomacy, we often speak of ‘close’ and ‘long-standing’ relations. ...
The Therapeutic Products Act (TPA) will be repealed this year so that a better regime can be put in place to provide New Zealanders safe and timely access to medicines, medical devices and health products, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello announced today. “The medicines and products we are talking about ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop, today released his decision on twenty recommendations referred to him by the Wellington City Council relating to its Intensification Planning Instrument, after the Council rejected those recommendations of the Independent Hearings Panel and made alternative recommendations. “Wellington notified its District Plan on ...
Rape Awareness Week (6-10 May) is an important opportunity to acknowledge the continued effort required by government and communities to ensure that all New Zealanders can live free from violence, say Ministers Karen Chhour and Louise Upston. “With 1 in 3 women and 1 in 8 men experiencing sexual violence ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government will be delivering a more efficient Healthy School Lunches Programme, saving taxpayers approximately $107 million a year compared to how Labour funded it, by embracing innovation and commercial expertise. “We are delivering on our commitment to treat taxpayers’ money ...
New research on the impacts of extreme weather on coastal marine habitats in Tairāwhiti and Hawke’s Bay will help fishery managers plan for and respond to any future events, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. A report released today on research by Niwa on behalf of Fisheries New Zealand ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters will lead a broad political delegation on a five-stop Pacific tour next week to strengthen New Zealand’s engagement with the region. The delegation will visit Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, and Tuvalu. “New Zealand has deep and ...
There has been a material decline in gas production according to figures released today by the Gas Industry Co. Figures released by the Gas Industry Company show that there was a 12.5 per cent reduction in gas production during 2023, and a 27.8 per cent reduction in gas production in the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins tonight announced the recipients of the Minister of Defence Awards of Excellence for Industry, saying they all contribute to New Zealanders’ security and wellbeing. “Congratulations to this year’s recipients, whose innovative products and services play a critical role in the delivery of New Zealand’s defence capabilities, ...
Welcome to you all - it is a pleasure to be here this evening.I would like to start by thanking Greg Lowe, Chair of the New Zealand Defence Industry Advisory Council, for co-hosting this reception with me. This evening is about recognising businesses from across New Zealand and overseas who in ...
It is a pleasure to be speaking to you as the Minister for Digitising Government. I would like to thank Akolade for the invitation to address this Summit, and to acknowledge the great effort you are making to grow New Zealand’s digital future. Today, we stand at the cusp of ...
New Zealand is urging both Israel and Hamas to agree to an immediate ceasefire to avoid the further humanitarian catastrophe that military action in Rafah would unleash, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The immense suffering in Gaza cannot be allowed to worsen further. Both sides have a responsibility to ...
A new online data dashboard released today as part of the Government’s school attendance action plan makes more timely daily attendance data available to the public and parents, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. The interactive dashboard will be updated once a week to show a national average of how ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced Rosemary Banks will be New Zealand’s next Ambassador to the United States of America. “Our relationship with the United States is crucial for New Zealand in strategic, security and economic terms,” Mr Peters says. “New Zealand and the United States have a ...
The Government is considering creating a new tier of minerals permitting that will make it easier for hobby miners to prospect for gold. “New Zealand was built on gold, it’s in our DNA. Our gold deposits, particularly in regions such as Otago and the West Coast have always attracted fortune-hunters. ...
Minister for Trade Todd McClay today announced that New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will commence negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA). Minister McClay met with his counterpart UAE Trade Minister Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi in Dubai, where they announced the launch of negotiations on a ...
New Zealand Sign Language Week is an excellent opportunity for all Kiwis to give the language a go, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. This week (May 6 to 12) is New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Week. The theme is “an Aotearoa where anyone can sign anywhere” and aims to ...
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Something I have been wondering about for awhile that I would be interested in comments on.
Given the need for more renewable power to avoid using coal fired generators, along with the increasing pressure on the grid due to the influx of electric vehicles, it seems that the government urgently needs more renewable sources of energy.
Options such as building dams etc are incredibly expensive, environmentally damaging, and take many years to impliment.
Given those constraints, why doesn't the government introduce a scheme to heavily subsidise domestic solar power generation and storage? Especially for houses where that option would be effective.
This type of solution should be much faster to implement, and wouldn't have the environmental issues associated with other power generation options. Plus, it would also have the benefit of lowering power costs for consumers, and thus reduce their living costs. Imagine the impact on power generation if even say 30% of houses in NZ had solar panels and storage.
I believe there was some sort of subsidy scheme around solar a number of years back, but I don't think that is around anymore. But it seems like a sensible option given the costs of the alternatives. I just don't understand why it isn't happening already.
Minister Parker has in his drafting hand the ability to amend the new version of the RMA to specifically enable "renewable energy generation" in the text, rather than rely on the far weaker National Policy Statement on Renewable Energy Generation which TBF merely acts as a guide to local governments when evaluating such applications.
National policy statement for renewable electricity generation | Ministry for the Environment
My suspicion is that Minister Woods will not be shaken out of her torpor to amend the Electricity Authority to expand its remit into something useful, until there is a further major blackout from renewables as occurred last year.
Until then we have just two weeks until the Carbon plan is showered with billions from the new Fund. Your guess is as good any what that will achieve in the mitigation v adaptation game.
"There are no subsidies or incentives in New Zealand for homeowners to install solar power systems. The Government did provide subsidies for solar hot water systems for a few years, but that was never applied to solar power."
https://www.mysolarquotes.co.nz/about-solar-power/residential/how-much-does-a-solar-power-system-cost/#:~:text=Are%20There%20Subsidies%20For%20Solar,never%20applied%20to%20solar%20power.
I imagine there are a number of impediments, not least of which is the fact almost all of the materials will have to be imported….then there is capacity to install/maintain at the level you outline (30% of households = 600,000 units) and issues with grid stability.
It will be a slowly solved (if at all) problem I suspect, especially given we are likely returning to supporting our economy through population growth.
Yes, I realise that the solar subsidy solution is not going to be immediate. I was thinking 30% over 10 years or something like that.
But there would be incremental gains over that time that would hopefully coincide with incremental increases in electric cars in the national fleet.
I have submitted to the Queenstown Lakes District Council saying that it should be compulsory for all new buildings to install solar when they are built.
Better to get a solar and/or wind power system for the whole district. Keep in local ownership?
More energy and resource efficient, and cheaper per household.
Also has the advantage of removing profit taking power companies from the equation.
Or. Close Tiwai point!
Onshore windfarms tend to destroy landscape values.
Better to have offshore wind or solar farms…there are 900 solar farms in the pipeline in the UK and NZ announced a couple a few weeks ago.
I would have thought solar farms, or hydro dams, have a bigger footprint on the landscape than wind generators. Which of course still have a much smaller footprint than AGW.
Then there is tidal power. Ideal spot not far away.
Queenstown is about as far away from the ocean as you can get (unless you are suggesting the small tide that Lake Wakatipu has?). It's also very unsuitable for wind power for the immediate area, which would mean shifting electricity from Central or Northern Southland, and that starts to defeat the purpose.
Anyone know if grid tied solar or wind can be adapted to off grid if a quake takes out the grid connection?
Pretty easily.
It just requires a switch.
There is a safety issue, that you don't want the solar or wind powering up the grid supply part during a grid power cut. Not nice to get zapped when you expect the line to be dead.
Queenstown is not far from Fovoux Strait, power transmission wise.
I have recall of a tv item about a solar farm with the panels set high enough that the cattle or sheep could graze round them and use their shade in the summer. I don't recall the name of the programme. Someone else may have better recall.
Been going on for ages. https://solargrazing.org/what-is-solar-grazing/
Lucky sheeps. So many live their lives indoors or on feedlots.
Thanks Rosemary.
Windmills generate extreme noise levels and you cannot escape this, it also devalues any property close by.
This is for kids to discover alternative energy:
https://kidsdiscover.com/teacherresources/whats-good-whats-bad-wind-energy/
N.B.: There are large protests in Europe about the number of windmills planned as it also means that land is being made to concrete deserts. You might power your vehicle but you wont have anything to eat. (So to speak).
"Extreme noise levels"?
How Loud Is A Wind Turbine? | GE News
Rubbish!
In Makara, the sheep are louder.
You haven’t worked next door to Marsden point.
Then there are alternatives.
https://vortexbladeless.com/#:~:text=Vortex%20technology%20uses%20no%20blades,a%20greener%20on%2Dsite%20generation.
https://www.windenergy.org.nz/sound-noise-standards
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/08/210818130533.htm
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-97107-8
Recommendation is generally that residential housing should be 2 Km away. Low frequency noise can interfere with the health of people living close by. The effects are studied and we should not forget that we are not looking at a lot of time when data is collected.
I am all for alternative generation, but we don't need to but the baby out with the water. Calling concerns with a "swoosh" rubbish is not very constructive. I appreciate that you might have a firm point of view because it seems you were working close to Marsden point. Nonetheless, I stand by what I have written.
"it also means that land is being made to concrete deserts. You might power your vehicle but you wont have anything to eat. (So to speak)."
A dozen 15m diameter concrete footings within thousands of acres does not constitute a concrete desert and the fields were full of crops
I gave a link that showed you are repeating rubbish.
You even said it yourself. At 2 km you will not hear a wind generator over the ambient noise. Even in the countryside.
@KJT
Both solar and wind do have a real impact on their local environment – the sheer area of land involved cannot be so easily overlooked.
Go for a drive through the vast French countryside and you will see (but not hear) wind generators dotted all over the landscape…and no concrete in sight.
Pat, if you drive through the French countryside you should pick up a paper in the next town. You might read about the concerns of the folks that have to live near the turbines and farmers who lose arable land. Also, the blades need changing on occasions and give me a guess what happens with them? Yep, they are just deposited on the ground. How green is that!
I am all for Windmills but some reason and science has to apply. Unless you want to pay a gold bar for a kg of potatoes.
Windmills are anchored with steel and concrete.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-97107-8
…foundations are usually simple concrete blocks called footings that are placed under building walls and columns, or in the case of wind turbines, beneath the tower.
A typical slab foundation for a 1 MW turbine would be approximately 15 m diameter and 1.5 – 3.5 m deep. Turbines in the 1 to 2 MW range typically use 130 to 240 m3 of concrete for the foundation. Multi-pile foundations are used in weaker ground conditions and require less concrete.
The middle Waikato river produces 1450mW.
"A typical slab foundation for a 1 MW turbine would be approximately 15 m diameter".
To replace that with wind generators at 1 mW per 177m2 of land use per generator is 1450 x 177m2. 256650m2, Divide by 10 000 is how many hectares?
Total agricultural land area in New Zealand – Figure.NZ
I am not worried about space for wind generation, threatening my spud supply anytime soon.
@KJT
Your wind turbines are going to have a capacity factor of around maybe 20% in a good location. So you will need roughly 5 times more of them than your calculation suggests.
Then you need to consider that much of the land does not have a good wind potential or that some seasons can have weeks of low wind. Gets messy quickly.
Do the sums.
Still a miniscule fraction of NZ's arable land.
Let alone of total land area.
Compare to biofuels which does require significant land use.
And. A large proportion of the best wind locations are not suitable for housing or farming. Steep and windswept, are places we use for sheep, or gorse.
NZ on a global scale has a reasonably good wind resource and getting the current annual contribution from around 4% to say 20% seems feasible and desirable.
Although given much of the easy, high productivity sites have already been utilised – it will probably take a covering a bit more land than you would imagine to get us even to 20%. And that assumes there is never any growth in total demand into the future.
On a global scale the picture is even less rosy – but given how we have seen Greenies shut down perfectly good nuclear power plants so as to intentionally burn more brown coal – I guess anything is possible.
Obviously, arithmetic is not your strength.
They may but i suspect their solution will be more along the lines of large schemes (solar pumped hydro at Onslow?) implemented and controlled by the main sector players rather than individual set ups.
The time frames on fleet replacement may never come to fruition.
The Onslow project does look like it has potential Pat. But it is going to take time. With the lack if rainfall down South this year, we could really have done with this now:
https://www.mbie.govt.nz/building-and-energy/energy-and-natural-resources/low-emissions-economy/nz-battery/lake-onslow-option/
I recall that the Green Party used to have a plan to install Solar panels on schools to act as cores for community produced electricity (less line loss). But that isn't even in the online precis of their clean energy policy anymore. Though there is proposed solar support more in line with what was discussed upthread:
https://www.greens.org.nz/clean_energy_plan
I imagine that; social and community homes, means Kaianga Ora (HNZ). I didn't trawl through the full detail pdf to find out. It all comes down to postelection numbers next year anyway.
Though the GP have always been good with other parties swiping their ideas, so long as the ill gets cured.
The solar on schools (and businesses) is an interesting one…I have seen a number of reports on instances and the overwhelming theme is they only partially offset use….some at very low levels, which highlights KJTs point about economy of scale, not to mention the fact a few major players are easier to coordinate than 10s of thousands individual installations.
I guess the GP might have crunched the numbers and found that the cost benefit analysis didn't stack up. I think it was more Hughes who was pushing for it, so with him out of Parliament these days, it has languished a bit.
It was certainly an ambitious scheme. But if the government can mandate the abolishing of coal burners in schools, they can certainly make funding conditional upon schools allowing them to install solar panels and batteries on their grounds. Especially since the schools would have first call on the subsidized power thus produced.
Weka had a point (somewhere) upthread about the fragility of the lines system. Which is certainly true in Dunedin where decades of underfunding (to prevent rates increases) have left the grid in a woeful state. Having a more distributed network would give more systematic resilience.
Not sure about the boiler replacements either…..especially if replaced with biomass furnaces rather than electric.
https://impactful.ninja/the-carbon-footprint-of-biomass-energy/#:~:text=Biomass%20energy%20has%20the%20fourth,beneficial%20as%20it%20might%20seem.
Solar on schools, reduces the cost of outgoings for the school,produces good surpluses over holidays and weekends,and a surplus back to the grid for the peak use ,(during the spring to autumn period) where you can reduce daytime hydro flows.
As more uptake comes on stream,then surpluses can be banked into community batteries (which essentially become local peakers) and reduces the high cost of distribution.
A major cost in installing PV solar is that you really need to run it through batteries and inverties unless you want to fry your old electrical gear. Did that to a keyboard up in a commune about a decade back – never did get another with quite the same tone bank settings. Though the tech has probably improved these last few years.
Anyway, it is still likely more efficient for a medium size structure such as a school to aggregate and distribute the local solar electricity network with good sized battery banks and true sine-wave inversions (rather than many budget setups with modified square-wave).
Excess could be shunted off to the grid more easily than with multiple small connections from individual houses. And likely get bulk discount on buyback to make that work out better too. Sure, maybe not as technically efficient as larger projects, but also avoiding lots of line-loss. More of an intermediate step.
Though Pandemic supply lines to this country might be too stretched to make this viable at present. Plus no one really seems to be advocating for it anymore.
Community batteries store the excess generation locally when households are at work etc.They return to the local grid for the peak flows .This reduces the need for local network upgrades,transmission loss etc.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2022-04-05/battery-solar-energy-storage-community-neighbourhood-home/100128416
Thanks for the link there Poisson. I should have said so yesterday, but got busy with other things after I clicked away.
The good thing about schools as a site – is that you have unused solar being contributed to the grid 2/7 and during school holidays.
There's a lot of unbuilt wind farms in Southland (you could say Southland is the Saudi Arabia of wind), that haven't been built because there's nothing apart from more coal to provide backup on the rare day's it's not blowing it's tits of along the south coast.
Onslow and / or the Tiwai hydrogen proposal will get those wind proposals going and I suspect a lot more. Could be an interesting period coming up for the South with the Green Hydrogen development leading to a dramatic expansion of the region's industrial sector.
Perhaps it could be a requirement for all owners of EVs (license address) to demonstrate that they have solar power installed 😉
After all – if you can afford 70K or so to buy one – then you can easily afford the solar installation to power it.
[Yes, a bit tongue-in-cheek]
That is a useful site Pat…thanks for the link. We've flirted with the idea of a hybrid system with battery back up for our wee place here in the Far North, but have been disappointed with the detail provided from the couple of 'quotes' we've had. $30,000 or a 5kw system…no idea of how many panels, batteries, brands etc. Most seem to be tied into some kind arrangement with a particular electricity retailer. The 'we're not sure if there will be over runs on installation until we start…' proviso, in small print at the bottom of the quote leaves me more than a little nervous. I did purchase a generator to keep freezers and our pumps running and have an 'ups' thingy as back up for the phone an internet.
And an update on this major solar power project… you'll be pleased to know that the crop of maize grown on this site was harvested a month or so ago, so I guess there has been solar energy utilized. Other than a sign and a chunky gravel carpark the sod-turning photo- op is as far as its gone.
Lol…enjoyed the maize anecdote.
I think individual solar good IF you can develop a system for your own use AND have some form of storage but despite the sales pitch the commercially available set ups still require considerable outlay and pay back periods are extensive….the costs increase considerably the moment it is grid tied.
Personally I would like to try to build a battery based system using DC only. Feed that with AC and covert to DC appliances at various voltage/amp. Almost everything i use is DC in their internal reality. Computers monitors, TVs, power tools, fans,
The exception appears to be heat generators like ovens, stove tops, heater, hot water…
Inverters are a waste of power. So are most of electric AC to DC adapters.
Then once that is running – look at alternate power supplies to feed DC batteries. Pointless having alternate power sources ifbyou are going to have major inefficiences in converting DC to AC to DC to charge a phone (for instance).
I wouldn’t bother feeding the grid when I had excess. The rates are pitiful against the equipment costs to do that. I would need the grid to get the electric ecosystem setup, and as a supplement.
One day when I feel like retiring.
Yes but most dont have the ability to create a bespoke system for themselves….and the moment you tie to the grid you are bound to use approved (and consequently) more expensive componentry, not to mention various fees.
A 12v system is common in many home designed systems often tied to 12v appliances.
I am grid tied (although the inverter is hybrid so are future proofed) the return on investment for me is 12% net,not many investments like that,
What are specs of system and who is providore?
Inverter here (on suppliers site)
https://cpssolar.co.nz/solar-product/goodwe-eh-series-grid-tie-hybrid-inverter/
Panels here.
https://cpssolar.co.nz/solar-product/trina-solar-panels/
Christchurch based.
kw and provider recompense?
So maximum 6kw….a 12 % return better than most….through which power co?….more than 0,08 (+ gst) an excess kw?
excess power 12c + genesis. My daily usage is around 11kwh.
What size system?…and 12c up to 50 kw (per billing period ?)
Gensis homegen is for solar or wind up to 50kw (output) best buyback price.
my unit is 5kw,getting around 4kw due to sun angle between the equinox's.Even on a cloudy day,i usually receive more then I use.
battery or not?
Hybrid so future proof ( can add battery later) as battery efficiency increases.
what (roughly) location?
43 south (chch)
How long you been running?
Since last year
Those who want individual households to install solar power, are ignoring efficiencies and economics of scale..
Individual small solar installations are many times more expensive and require more manufactured resources, than a large solar or wind installation.
Government money is better used in building larger scale sustainable generation, for everyone instead of subsidising upper middle class who can afford to add solar panels.
While we have a privatised electricity industry whose business model depends on keeping energy scarce and expensive, though!
The economics of roof solar have changed dramatically over the last few years. Two minutes of surfing showed this:
"Costs for solar energy systems have come down substantially over the past decade. A fully-installed system in 2008 could run you about $40,000 — now, prices are only a fraction of that amount. The cost for a solar system starts around $5,990."
Think for a moment about what those households could buy for that amount, if several thousand of them clubbed together and built a solar or wind farm.
Not to mention the savings on long term maintainance, of one solar farm compared to hundreds of individual roof top systems.
There's no reason that large scale solar farm can't be virtual and spread over a hundred or thousand roof tops.
That's what Solar Zero have done, but their model is putting their panels on your roof, and giving you cheaper (maybe) power in lieu of rent.
I'd be interested in a more co-operative model where the property owner owns the panels and shares in a wholesale marketing organisation to sell their surplus energy
Every one of those roof tops requires rectifiers, switching and controllers, plus probably batteries.
A lot of duplication of small and consequently, inefficient, equipment.
On the plus side, roof top solar doesn’t take up extra land.
Hopefully solar control systems will improve in cost and efficiency.
"There's no reason that large scale solar farm can't be virtual and spread over a hundred or thousand roof tops."
Its not impossible but is it the best and most efficient use of limited resources both now and for the future?
I agree, it makes more sense from an efficiency point of view to build large solar arrays. I have seen these type of installations in Germany.
A counter to that is that such installations would take a long time to go through the approval process, actually get built, and have supporting infrastructure built. Also, they use up huge amounts of land. In that respect, is the offset cost of the lost opportunity cost of alternative usages for the land taken up by solar arrays. For instance, lost opportunities for food production, or even using the land for planting native forests as a carbon-offset.
While subsidies for domestic solar installations would not be as efficient, they would provide much quicker sources of renewable energy and wouldn't need the same amount of supporting infrastructure as they would be using the infrastructure already in existence.
Perhaps, a solar subsidy arrangement could be an interim goal to fill the gap while more efficient solutions are implemented over a longer timeframe.
Yes I agree with your thoughts above and have done so for at least 20 years! I worked in the solar hot water side for awhile – before PV became more viable – and even then there were immense gains to be made both economically and environmentally. WA had a similar scheme – sunny days are the rule there, so an obvious source of energy. Traveling in the train south from Perth you will see house after house with solar panels. It was so popular that the WA Govt overran its budget and, as it was then a liberal govt, cut the scheme. But the die had been cast and there is still a good uptake on solar energy installation on new builds.
Many of the solar hot water systems installed in NZ are manufactured in WA – it was there that they were developed.
Israel mandates all new buildings to be fitted with solar energy and has done for decades, obviously to reduce its reliance on imported fossil fuels.
Yes you are correct in that roof-top solar has far more penetration in Australia than NZ. As a guess I would say the rate is between 5 – 8 times higher.
Still the reality is that Australia has one of the best solar and wind power potential anywhere on the planet – and it is still a non-trivial task to turn off all the coal until you have solved the storage problem.
The large uptake of solar in oz,has meant electricity prices have fallen,
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-01-19/how-low-electricity-prices-can-help-with-power-bills/100703726
Roof-top solar appears to have a few fishhooks.
Last year saw Australians install rooftop solar like never before, with 40% more installed in 2021 than in 2020. Solar system installations now make up 7% of the energy going into the national electricity grid.
[…]
But such a dramatic surge in solar output also poses challenges for Australia’s power system for two main reasons.
It results in increased periods of large oversupply when weather conditions favour solar energy. This leads to energy being wasted due to the need for solar curtailment – when a solar system shuts down or stops exporting energy to the grid to counter the energy spike.
On the other hand, there is little solar generation during peak demand hours in the morning and evening. This requires more expensive generators to run.
These are huge problems from a market operations perspective, as the pressure on the system may result in blackouts and disruptions. It also creates large price swings for retailers, which then can increase costs for consumers. As a result, we may see it become more expensive to decarbonise the national energy market.
https://theconversation.com/4-ways-to-stop-australias-surge-in-rooftop-solar-from-destabilising-electricity-prices-173592
I came up with a hair brained scheme a while back where government rolls out solar that pays for itself.
Put solar on state housing and recoup the costs from tenants paying their power bills – but at the same time (calculated by their average/historic use) offer them some of the savings (will make buy in much easier) from the savings generated. Win – Win.
You could roll out a portion of it, show the bank the payments coming in, and get finance for the next portion. Very little govt spending required if they shuffle their cards right.
Many other government properties could do with the retrofit too.
It would make the government a major power generator in short order. And yes, it would certainly help take the pressure off our systems.
there was talk some time back of us manufacturing solar here. I have no idea why that's not happening, it was another no-brainer.
"there was talk some time back of us manufacturing solar here. I have no idea why that's not happening, it was another no-brainer."
The simple answer is costs….most of the components would need to be imported anyway so is more efficient to buy in complete items.
Here's what the sustainable and resilient solution looks like, see if you can spot the pattern:
What that does is use less resources, require less maintanence, create less pollution, make NZ more self sufficient, make local areas, neighbourhoods and households more self sufficient and resilient going into our climate and quake future.
outside my lane about what would work, but couple that with manufacturing components in NZ as much as possible.
At the moment, we have some pretty important infrastructure that relies on overseas manufacturers for replacement parts. Consider current supply line interruptions magnified, and what would happen if your town electricity or supply stopped working because something broke. How much redundancy do we have?
I can't say I disagree with any of that Weka. It just seems to make more sense compared to anything else which will be expensive, long to implement, and damaging to the environment.
I imagine such a solution would also have good buy-in from the public who would directly benefit from such a concept.
You dont need the water part,there is an extra unit that you can install with solar pv which optimizes Water heating first (around 800)
It's a good question that some of us have been asking for a while now. Would have to look up exactly when, but the Greens pushed quite some time ago (pre Key?) for solar install subsidies that would also have had the effect of upscaling solar business in NZ and thus lowering prices. You can understand why some of us are frustrated with NZ voters.
Further to my comment, probably the only point I would disagree with is that I don't think that the government should be subsidising or requiring (in the case of new builds) every house should have solar energy. That is because not all houses are oriented to efficiently take advantage of solar.
The optimal orientation is east-west oriented houses (with the exposed roof facing north). So, perhaps at the consenting side of the equation the approval authority could decide whether the orientation of the house qualifies for the government subsidy or not so that taxpayer money is used in the most efficiently.
Perhaps planners should look at the possible orientation of houses when allowing for new subdivisions.
Ha! Have you seen the new builds in Auckland. 8 townhouses crammed literally side-by-side on a section which previously contained 1 house.
Sections are covered to 95% of area with housing (and the rest is driveway).
Under the new government intensive building plans – town planners will have little if any control over what is built where.
I call BS on that. The building coverage in Auckland cannot exceed 50% of the site and in most cases (e.g. zones) it is less than that.
Really. I invite you to take a look at the intensive housing going in along the main transit corridors (but still suburban streets) in Auckland.
Literally 4 doors down from me (side street connection to a main road) they are building 8 townhouses on the site where they've removed one house. They're 3 story – in order to get the most density on the site possible.
And the building is right from one boundary to the driveway (which is on the other boundary)
The only non-built space is the driveway.
This may have required a resource consent (i.e. isn't a normally allowed activity) – but they are routinely being rubber-stamped in Auckland's drive for intensification along PT corridors (and linked areas).
This is repeated on building-site after building-site across the suburbs I drive through.
Yes, really. Knock yourself out by searching the AUP (Auckland Unitary Plan) for “building coverage” aka building footprint. For example, here:
https://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/plans-projects-policies-reports-bylaws/our-plans-strategies/hgi-district-plan/Documents%20%20PM14/pm14-attachment-e-aup-tracked-changes-part1.pdf [625 pages]
For example, 50% max. building coverage on a site of 10 m by 20 m (200 meter squared) means the building footprint cannot be more than 100 meter squared, e.g. 6 m by 16 m (96 meter squared). To you that may look like 95% while in actual fact it is (only) 48%. (NB there are all sorts of boundary requirements, but this is just a simple example to illustrate your optical illusion)
Have fun!
In the real world: Building from one side of the site to the other (excluding the driveway), building from front berm to to back boundary.
I don't see in what rational world that can be described as 48% of the site.
I acknowledge that this may have required a resource consent for an exemption to the standard rules. However, as I said, these are clearly being routinely granted.
What I'm describing is anything but an isolated incident.
And the new legislation is specifically designed to allow 3x3story houses on the site where previously 1 was permitted.
Go argue with your calculator and work out the building footprint after you have measured yourself those sites with new housing builds (incl. terraced houses and apartments) that, in your mind, occupy 95% of the total site area. You may want to ask permission before you enter those properties. Alternatively, you could tell us the exact area you’re talking about; Auckland Council has these very handy maps and other handy data …
What you think you see in the real world is in your head.
Spot the ambiguity if not contradiction.
What does this have to do with building footprint maxima?
The new law requires Auckland Council to allow medium-density housing (3 houses of 3 stories high on the site currently required for one) – as a default across most of their area.
https://www.hud.govt.nz/about-us/news/update-enabling-housing-supply-legislation-passes-to-help-grow-our-cities/
I expect this drive for intensification to continue. And the cheapest way for developers to do this, is what they're already doing: cramming as many townhouses as possible on a single site.
From your link:
In other words, it has not happened yet (“from August 2022”), so you cannot have seen it yet, whatever it is that you think you saw.
No. What I'm seeing is resource consent variations over site-coverage being routinely granted to enable Auckland Council’s goals of intensification along PT corridors.
The point I was making is that this intensification (resulting in virtually zero un-built-on land on the site) will increase (and become more widespread) when the new legislation comes into effect.
At least you agree that the new legislation has not yet come into effect. Now, can you tell us what the building coverage limits are that are allegedly “resulting in virtually zero un-built-on land on the site” in the new legislation, which by your reckons is already happening in Auckland? You’re repeating the same stupid line but with not a shred of support.
Even with the 3 levels,both the height control plane and expense will exclude lifts.
It should be mandatory for Woods and Brownlee to move the new owners fridge and washing machine up to level 3.
They manage moving to the 4th floor in the middle of Amsterdam just fine.
Well they should move to Amsterdam.
I’m sure NZ movers would love a trip to Amsterdam to learn the trade.
Na they would send the container with Brownlee and Woods in there.
Anyway the infill initiative falls over under high initial costs (land and property,high construction costs,and high interest rates to come.
Brownlee is very good at tampering with airport security and he’d get out of the container quite easily.
They were not economical then,its only in the last 3-4 years that costs have decreased substantially as large scale manufacturing became more cost effective.
Private solar installations are already subsidised in a roundabout way. My son who has a PhD in Battery Technology countered my arguments about more house solar and why werent the prices paid for supply to the grid closer to what we pay. The reply was that there are a few unique aspects to NZs electricity systems, and the cost of production of is only about 7cents a kw, the distribution is the killer.
1, most of the rest of the world needs electricity to cool buildings in the summer when solar and wind is a lot more efficient, US and Europe heat their houses and factories with gas or oil and it will take quite sometime to phase out up to a billion systems. We on the other hand use electricity for heating in the winter and don't cool very many buildings in summer, our winter solution is to put on another bloody jersey, one area where our Scots and Irish heritage favours conservation!
2, the majority of the cost of electricity is in the distribution, and NZ is very difficult terrain to manage. I live 25kms from a large SI town yet between here and there there are tens of millions of dollars of installations, a lot disquised as normal houses used to manage voltage and other aspects, all of which require a huge amount of maintenance, again an almost unique NZ problem, because of the long distances and consequently a fraction of the consumers to pay for it compared to other countries.
Heres the political problem, more houses with solar means less consumers to pay for the distribution costs and that system is vital, small private solar installations are very prone to lack of sunlight and wind just when you need the power hence the need for most to be connected to the grid and the nessecity to pay the same as someone without solar supplementation. Just because you may ride a bike a lot of the time you still may need a car to do what cannot be managed on a bike and I'm pretty sure no government is going to subsidise the capital cost of a car for you just because it sits idle until you need it.
There are many, many other complications, but one of his interesting comments was that the future will see that a much larger proportion of the worlds industrial production will occur 10-20 degrees either side of the Equator in highly automated factories with few staff because of the amount of sunlight available ( closer to the sun ) and the reliability of tropical winds for cheaper energy and shorter freight distances, ( not by much but everything helps ).
Get in now, buy desert in northern Australia.
Hey tsmithfield, do you want to walk back the lying propaganda you posted yesterday about another Russian ship being sunk? No evidence whatsoever except the lies you picked up from Western media. It didn't happen, just like the Russian Generals killed in action .. all bullshit .. You really need to learn how to do real research.
Poots' billion dollar gin palace will do.
https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/putins-superyacht-scheherazade-seized-italy/
Consolation prize
Yes – the whole invasion is a Nazi fake. Real research would show that Putin was correct all along when he told everyone back in Feb that Russia was never going to invade Ukraine.
Thought you may be interested in this RL.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/experiences/hiking-holidays/128541226/on-long-and-winding-trail-of-a-tramping-legend
Thanks for this. I met Paul just the once at Masterton Rail station on his way into the Tararuas and got to chat with him for a while. Yes he is a legend – quite well known.
Great article!
Positively inspiring.
I know for certain they took out a landing craft type boat as pointed out by Red below. So, that could be a source of confusion.
I will reserve my position on the Makarov because I haven't seen any firm evidence that the Makarov is actually around still. I have seen several photos put up by pro-Russian sources on Twitter, apparently of the Makarov in port, or some other location after the attack. But, those pictures have been easily identified as fakes. Hence, I will wait until there is actually firm evidence that the Makarov is actually still around before conceding anything.
tsmithfield .. The clip of the ship being hit is actually from a video game, wise up with your comments, you are spreading lies ..
If you are referring to the article linked to by Red Logix above, you obviously didn't read the part where it said:
"Satellite photos analysed by the Associated Press show the aftermath of an apparent Ukrainian drone strike on Friday on Russian positions on Snake Island, with thick black smoke rising overhead."
So maybe you need to update your technique for sorting fact from fiction.
tsmithfield the Russian frigate was and is nowhere near Snake Island, the source of another PR stunt gone wrong by Ukraine, remember the valiant soldiers who all actually surrendered to the Russians .. It is you that needs to update your technique for sorting fact from bullshit. You show a twitter feed as proof .. ha ha ha ha ha ha. If you want to actually educate yourself about what is happening in Ukraine I can give you some real independant analysis from actual experts, not armchair experts.
'Actual experts' who can tell us this 'so called 'war' is all just a Ukrainian PR stunt right? Real research would show Russian soldiers being welcomed with hot food, flowers and enthusiastic fucks by happy locals glad to be free of Nazis oppressing them.
Got it.
Red Logix you need to drink less alcohol or inbibe less on substances before making comments which defy logic .. read your above post and get help friend!
Выпить Карцу Путину !!!
RedLogix, I examined your letters and again you confirm the need for some assistance man, you lack logic or good sense, grow up!
The situation with the Makarov is a bit weird. Hopefully we will soon have some objective information about this.
There has been this tweet recently claiming that the ship was met back at dock by 20 ambulances suggesting something serious had happened on board.
If the ship has been damaged enough to require that sort of attention, then it could be out of the game for quite awhile, even if it is still floating.
It's been very widely reported in the media.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/russia-ukraine-war-putins-new-flagship-warship-on-fire-following-missile-strike-weeks-after-moskva-sunk/WH3QTI2QHZCJMO7RRANWDD2EHI/
Of course the Herald report comes from the International wires – rather than independent reporting.
If you have a reputable source to link to, that this is propaganda – then it would be good to see it.
Belladonna .. au contraire you need to provide actual proof of the frigate being damaged, I don't have to prove anything, because nothing happened except on a keyboard spewing propaganda and lies .. show me the money shot boys!
The Great Lord Putin has promised a wonderful victory over the hordes of lying Nazi monkeys pounding out endless lies and filth on their keyboards!!
RedLogix .. come on Man pull yourself together, you simply don't make sense or offer an argument .. You say .. The Great Lord Putin has promised a wonderful victory over the hordes of lying Nazi monkeys pounding out endless lies and filth on their keyboards! Explain this nonsense?
An apolitical energy expert told me that solar is marginal in NZ but great in Australia. Aussie have a lot of sun when they need the most energy (in summer to run aircons). Whereas in NZ we need enrgy for winter heating and that's when there's too little sun.
Solar in NZ is good for water heating (which is a waste of electricity) but not so good for making electricity.
Fuck the ' experts ' works perfectly fine on my roof and has done the last ten years .
Worked for my parents in Rotorua for a decade. Their grid power bills were minimal – about $30 per month in winter. Solar + water backed wood burner.
They moved about 5-6 years ago. I'd have liked to have tried lithium batteries as well. But they were too expensive at the time.
Worked for my parents in Rotorua for a decade. Their grid power bills were minimal – about $30 per month in winter. Solar + water backed wood burner.
They moved about 5-6 years ago. I'd have liked to have tried lithium batteries as well. But they were too expensive at the time.
I have rooftop solar thermal hot water and photovoltaic panels and a battery so I speak from experience. There is a hybrid inverter that automatically sends surplus production to the grid and draws from the grid when the battery is at my reserve value. It can disconnect from the grid in an outage and provide power from the battery and reconnect in phase when the grid is back up. This is a Harrison's system and they have backed up their product with appropriate service. The cost is worth bearing for those who have the resources; our total electricity bill last year was little more than $300, and includes charging a Mitsubishi PHEV for local driving. I've long advocated for a government loan guarantee for such installations with savings on electricity applied to amortising the loan. This requires a suitable payback tariff for energy sent to the grid. This is not available from all electricity retailers and is not sufficient from others, but even then it works given some time. Other comments about large scale installations and upgraded distribution systems are correct and will be necessary for the progress of NZ into the rest of this century. Getting the government policies needed to accomplish this is an ongoing task.
Pete Buttigieg does a good job naming the "high water mark" of freedom within both the likely reversal of Roe and the Florida State "don't ask don't tell" law.
It's 6 minutes but he does a good job, noting his own point that 10 years ago it would have been laughable that he be able to discuss that he is married to a man and has two children, and that now such a statement is to be deemed only suitable for adults.
(8) Pete Buttigieg BRINGS THE HOUSE DOWN with must-see speech – YouTube
Excellent link thanks Ad. A big part of why I come here is to be put on to links like this.
Throws more light on something I've thought for some time. That the USA is broken and I consider is incapable of healing itself.
I find the concept of a high-water mark useful.
Next week Pete might have changed his opinion. 🙂
He is the last person to be speaking about freedom when he doesn’t seem to know what it means.
https://www.indystar.com/story/news/politics/elections/2019/05/01/pete-buttigieg-vaccines/3639678002/
Yes, slay Buttigieg for that. Ponder his views and ways as illustrated in that 2019 link and that performance (above) on YouTube and the proven views and ways of Donald Trump. Which one of those two would have better qualities and less negatives to be President after 2024?
'Heard says she wants the Government to do more to help those who may be facing mortgage stress.'
Already!
Expect anyone coming under mortgage stress to blame the….gummint now.
Mother says time with her baby will be cut short because monthly home repayments are set to jump $800 a month | Stuff.co.nz
High interest rates as passive population control. Awesome.
So long as the Ardern government imports enough Filipino RNs for rest homes we'll be right jack.
Do those who look constantly for handouts understand that it is tax money they demand? Who is going to pay? Or are we back to printing.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/opinion-analysis/126261112/who-will-pay-the-price-for-the-54-billion-spent-on-quantitative-easing
So it turns out that Omicron is just as severe as the previous Covid variants. It was all media bollocks from the business lobby to support opening up.
https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/omicron-severe-previous-covid-variants-large-study-finds-2022-05-05/?fbclid=IwAR2b5sJfZDgG_EjMkTWeWmS1V2S6SBVZICNuuM-hypVUcZ59V7EO8YT6Qf0
Interesting. That was the assumption that I made when I looked at those original studies on omicron.
They looked far too coarse grained for a population that was partially immunised and had treatments. Just simple bean counting without looking at nuance.
If you look closely at the NZ hospialisation demographic rates for unvaccinated where known (after the delta cases passed through), they look like Italy in early 2020.
Exactly. The continuous repetition of "more infectious but milder" smacked of an orchestrated campaign by business interests. It was never backed by the WHO.
I think the way to tame inflation is to crash the property market.
About a 60% fall should do it.
The effects of high mortgage and rent payments and their % of income is a big problem.
Mainly speculators and investors would be hurt.
More homes would appear on the market driving prices and rents even lower.
People who bought their houses to live in will still benefit from CG over decades,and FHB will be able to afford a…home.
Blazer, banks would fail, stocks would fall Kiwi saver balances would crash dreams would die.
Revolution of any kind has too many unintended consequences.
So whats the…bad …news!
Nope. The speculators and investors are unlikely to be hurt. Pretty much all of them have a healthy buffer of equity. And losses are only losses once you sell – so they're motivated to hang on to the property – for at least the 10 years required to escape the bright line test. Of course, in the meantime, they're also highly motivated to ratchet up the rent every year…
The people it clobbers are the new homeowners – with mortgages less than 3 years old. *If* they can hang on, they'll be OK. Banks have been stress-testing mortgage repayments at 7-8% over the last 2+ years before loaning money.
But anyone who is obliged to sell (marriage break up, illness, job loss, etc.) will take a hammering – and will probably come up with negative equity.
There will be some mortgagee sales – but everyone (banks included) wants to keep them to a minimum.
If prices drop,so will the equity required by banks regarding investors/speculators.
They will have to stump up or sell in a falling market.=more stock.
As prices rose 30% in Auckland in one year the rebalance is long overdue.
FHB's if the stress tests are real should be o.k.
No. Banks very, very rarely require an infusion of equity for existing loans – where there is a strong payment history.
Unless you have some evidence that this past practice is about to change.
Of course, if you want a further loan (say for renovations) or want to shift to interest-only, then they'll force a revaluation.
But banks don't want to force a sale — they'll make a heck of a lot more money, long term, off the mortgage repayments.
You will find banks most certainly require a capital injection from leveraged investors when the market tanks. Similar to a margin call on securities.
LVR restrictions mean that property investors (over the last 2? years) have needed to have a 40% deposit.
https://www.rbnz.govt.nz/education/at-a-glance-series/lvr-restrictions-at-a-glance
You'd have to have property market crash of epic proportions for them to be moving into negative equity.
Property investors with portfolios older than 2 years – will have 'benefited' from the capital increase – and, again it would take an epic property crash to shift their loan into negative equity.
Highly leveraged property investors are pretty much a thing of the past in NZ.
And the world dosn't end…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_property_bubble#:~:text=The%20collapse%20of%20the%20property,apartment%20prices%20down%20over%2062%25.
Finding it very curious that there have been numerous debates here on who is, should or can be a "woman". Over the last few days there has been much publicity about the nasty attack on Nadia Lim in the NBR by the Henry person. Pleasing to see all the support she has had from numerous people. But none or very little comment here!
The CEO Simon Henry is a misogynist, and has been outed.
Nadia is self made, but her business took advantage of shareholders and holes in the current system through pumping possible profits, selling shares and realising wealth where other investors won't get much.
So support for her position is muted, as the man is an egg, but his premise of overhyping the shares was real. imo.
Well I’m not going to get too excited about reality TV participants and their subsequent business activities–but Mr Henry deserves the shower of shit he is getting. He could have just stuck to his business grumble, without invoking misogyny and racial slurs.
“There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen.”
― Vladimir Ilyich Lenin
Oh that were so in NZ! The reality is NZ is a venal money trench for the elite and petit bourgeoisie, a neo liberal state in legislation and reality, so no revolution just yet. But change is a coming…one way or another. Generation rent and student loan and alienated working class know that, it is a matter of what the direction is.
The Convoys and Groundswells had their go at being that change, but have ‘blown their bags’ to use an old crudity, as far as can be seen, they had their chance.
A new political movement (not just Parliamentary Party) is certainly needed to challenge and retire neo liberalism. But given all the requirements to register new parties and do community organising and activism, that should probably be kicked out to the 2026 General Election. There are ultimately few ‘organisational solutions to major political problems.’
But for 2023 certainly the Greens and Te Pāti Māori should be the target for pressure to support working class friendly policy in case they are able to form a Government with Labour. A combination of tactics–turn Green and Māori left as possible, and strategy–keep the dirty filthy natzos out, as the ground is prepared for a generational break through in 2026.
This country is a Tale of Two Cities and needs people power to turn it around, passivity and compliant consumers have had their day.
To Labour and the Scientists Thanks for a great fight against Mico plasma bovis. In spite of the refusal to comply by some rednecks, we are almost free of this scourge.
Next will be the tropical blackworm which is able to demolish a garden in days.
http://www.voxy.co.nz/health/5/401947
"Biosecurity New Zealand is closely monitoring reports of a Foot and Mouth disease (FMD) outbreak in Indonesia, says Biosecurity New Zealand Deputy Director-General Stuart Anderson."
"We will review the latest information from Indonesia and boost our already strong measures at the border if required.
"An audit last year of Indonesia's supply chain for palm kernel, which is used as a feed supplement in New Zealand, showed it was meeting strong import health requirements."
NZs worst nightmare.
Yes Pat that would be very grim.
There is a Turning Away happening in the US – not the Floyd version, but arguably a response to it. When working no longer gets one anywhere, that old tune in, turn on, & drop out looks better every day.
Sad, sad thread on how people were and are treated like dust in Russia.
1/ The following thread is an attempt to explain Russia(TM) to you from my Soviet-Russian-speaking-Ukrainian-Jewish perspective. I didn't eat wisdom with spoons. Please add and correct!
2/ We are currently seeing many Russians on the streets of Russian cities in heroic protest against the war. Navalnyj said "If we have to clog up their prisons with our bodies, then we'll do it".
[…]
(Now also enjoy this thread as a blog post: marinaweisband.de/russia-verst… )
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