Kia ora Queenstown electrifiers!

The festive season was a great circuit breaker, but we’re once again acting like electrons and back into motion. From new trials, to sweet deals, to helpful resources to event planning, we’ve hit the ground running.

Raise the roof: Solar for Renters expression of interest

Solar energy presents a powerful opportunity to reduce electricity costs, cut carbon emissions, and improve energy resilience for both tenants and landlords. It makes sense for New Zealand, it makes even more sense in Queenstown due to our high energy prices and access to sunlight, and it stacks up financially for those who can pay upfront or pay it off over time.

But how can renters benefit from solar when they don’t own a roof? And how can landlords pay off their investment?

The Queenstown Electrification Accelerator is aiming to solve those problems and is launching a Solar for Renters trial to make low‑cost solar energy more accessible for residential and commercial rental properties.

‍Landlords: Are you interested in reducing energy costs for your tenants, increasing the desirability (and value) of the property, and earning a stable return from solar?

‍Tenants: Would you like lower power bills, reduced emissions, and greater energy resilience in your home or business?

It's a big win-win, so if you’re keen to find out more, visit qea.nz/solar-for-renters to fill in an expression of interest. We’ll ask for a few details about you, your property, and your contact information so we can keep you updated and assess eligibility.

We’ve already had over 50 expressions of interest - from Queenstown and across the country - and your input will help shape a programme that works for both landlords and renters, with the goal of enabling nationwide access to lower‑cost energy for renters.

Shameless plug: Vehicle to Grid trial update

"If just half of New Zealand’s light vehicles were electric and plugged into [vehicle-to-grid], they would be able to push out the equivalent power of all of our nation’s power stations combined," says Queenstown Electrification Accelerator lead Josh Ellison. That's the promise of V2G.

👉 Check out the stories on the trial from NZ Herald's Chris Keall and the Mountain Scene.

QEA and EECA are collaborating on the trial and it will run for the next 18 months. The goal is to examine how consumers use the technology and iron out any technical issues - whether from the lines companies, retailers, installers or car manufacturers - so it can be rolled out smoothly nationwide.

While cars that run appliances (often known as V2L) or charge other EVs is now common, V2G is not universal and there are lingering concerns among owners about voiding warranties if they plug into the house, but manufacturers like BYD and new Chinese brand Zeekr are on board for the trial and are providing exemptions.

Geely has provided one of its new EVs, the Zeekr X, to take part in the trial and it’s also available for test drives, so if you’re keen to see how good these Chinese electric cars now are, get in touch.

As well as the savings from avoiding high peak charges or payments from exporting, there is also the added security. These big batteries could be crucial in the event of an emergency where the grid goes down and it could be down for weeks or even months after a significant Alpine Fault quake.

As Ellison told the Herald: “Cars store a lot of energy. When that’s in a petrol tank, it’s not good for much else than driving ... With electric cars, you’re now getting a battery that can be used to power your home or your business. A new electric car has about three or four days of household energy in its battery.”

And when you factor in solar, these batteries can keep being charged. It’s basically ‘free’ resilience that pays itself off over time.

There has been a lot of interest in the trial and we’ve had over 100 applicants. The first chargers have gone in, but these are for testing purposes and not for public use. We’ll be contacting successful applicants soon and installing the first chargers in homes in the near future. Find out more about the trial and get involved here.

Hot Water Heat Pump group discount

As part of our first group discount offer, we had some hot deals on hot water heat pumps and we had a number of locals express their interest. We’ve just had our first install, and another coming next week!

We’re always looking for different ways to make electrification easier and cheaper and harnessing the community's collective purchasing power to get group discounts with suppliers is one way we’re doing it.

We were able to offer locals around $1000 off the retail price of Reclaim Energy, Daikin, Emerald and Stiebel hot water heat pumps.

Check out the specs and prices on the website and, if you're keen for a deal in the next intake, register your interest there.

If you have any questions, please get in touch with jade@rewiring.nz. And if you know someone else who wants to save money, reduce emissions and improve their resilience, feel free to pass it on.

New resources: guides, case studies, and more

Our goal is to make electrification easier and cheaper, and to do that we’ve been rolling out the resources on the QEA website. Whether you’re just starting out or already on the journey; whether you’re a hotel looking at getting solar, or a home looking to get off gas, there are a number of helpful documents to show you the way. There's info for both households and businesses, and they are all downloadable as PDFs.

Community spotlight: Ryder Coffee

Your coffee machine might be electric, but your coffee beans probably aren't - unless you're buying them from Queenstown roastery Ryder.

Most coffee roasteries still rely on gas, but Ryder was the first in New Zealand to invest in a German machine called a Probat P05e, the electric version of one of the world’s most well known roasters.

As master roaster, relationship manager and founder Sam Bright says, quality has always been the most important thing and the electric tech now offers it.

"We've become immensely better at our craft by learning this technology to benefit our coffee at the other end and we think it's gone really well."

The roaster is basically like a hair dryer and offers on-demand heat, unlike gas-heated drum roasters which typically take 30-60 minutes to properly warm up. This saves energy and time. And, much like an induction cooktop, it also offers greater control, better air quality and lower emissions.

Ryder's electric roaster is fairly small and does 5kg at a time but, given how well the first machine has gone, Bright says they are currently looking at upgrading to something bigger. It has also opened up a new all-electric espresso bar in Frankton's industrial estate (conveniently located right across the road from the Queenstown Electrification Accelerator office), so pop in and get a taste of the future and see the roasting in action if you're in the neighbourhood.

Check out the Bright Sparks video from our mates at Rewiring Aotearoa here.

Other energy news

We’re working hard behind the scenes with a range of different parties to ensure locals get the lowest bills, highest resilience and lowest emissions. And there’s been plenty of discussion about the proposal to bring a new line into Queenstown to deal with anticipated growth in demand as we electrify.

This is likely to cause one of the top five bill increases in New Zealand electricity market history, $500 or more per household per year, and Aurora’s own independently commissioned analysis says it could be delayed for five years, just by focusing more on making the most of solar, batteries, and smart charging. This would likely save the community tens of millions.

The “Preferred Option” only applies to the options that were put to the community. And there were only four expensive line options to choose from.

Aurora didn’t ask the community: would you rather (a) the line is built ASAP, which would increase bills in one single big step? Or (b) would you prefer we help the community install a range of batteries, solar and smart charging that would actually lower bills for homes rather than increase them, and provide free energy resilience to disasters as a bonus, then build the line years later?

If this was actually asked, what option do you think would have been “preferred”?

We think this is a litmus test for a smart electricity system or an unnecessarily expensive one. Aurora has a golden opportunity to ride the wave of falling solar and battery prices, flexibility, and modern grid management and could create a postcard example of how to build with innovation for the benefit of communities, keeping their bills low and resilience high. That’s a future we’ll keep fighting for.

Events & cool stuff

Electrifying Business events

QEA’s business lead Lowri Swygart showed Wānaka businesses the benefits of going electric - for the savings, the strength or the sustainability - on February 20. And she’ll also be hosting an online workshop on Tuesday 24th February to put electrification in front of SMEs as part of a collaboration with the Sustainable Business Network.

Climate Social meetups

If you just want to catch up with some fellow climate-focused Queenstowners, community lead Jade Baker-Edwards has kicked off monthly Climate Social meet ups. They’ll take place on the first Tuesday of every month at various watering holes and it will be a place to connect, learn and discuss a range of issues in a relaxed environment.

QEA at Southern Lakes Home & Garden Show

The QEA team will also be at the Southern Lakes Home & Garden Show on March 6 to run you through all the electric options for your home. Whether it's hot water heat pumps, solar and batteries, induction cooktops or EV charging, we're here to make it easier for people to make a decision that will reduce their bills, improve their resilience and slash their emissions.

Electrify Queenstown conference

The 2026 version of Electrify Queenstown has been switched on and, just like previous years, the Rewiring Aotearoa and Queenstown Electrification Accelerator teams will be there alongside Destination Queenstown to present, listen and learn - and you should be there too.

The political debate on energy (a debate we've already started in the lead up to the ‘electric election’ in November) will be a highlight and there will be a huge range of experts and electric experiences on offer.

New Queenstown Lakes District mayor John Glover says: "Electrification is vital for the future of the district and as a business owner, I’ve seen firsthand how smart energy choices can strengthen resilience and reduce long-term costs. Electrify Queenstown is valuable because it shows what’s already working, locally. It gives people practical confidence that these solutions are achievable, scalable and relevant to our community." We concur.

17-19 May, earlybird tickets are available now.

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We’ve got big goals and we’re doing everything we can to turn Queenstown into the world’s most electric destination, one home and business at a time. That’s why we need you to start the process and think about all the machines you’re going to electrify.

We’re always looking for volunteers to help electrify their community. Join the community group on Facebook and/or reach out to jade@rewiring.nz if you want to be a part of the movement.

Let’s make these lakes electric!

The QEA team