Solar
Life after cars for Leaf batteries
An Irish entrepreneur is recycling old Nissan leaf batteries and has begun turning some of them into energy storage for the home. How is it done, and is it possible here in New Zealand? Audio
Electrification could save NZ $95 billion by 2040: report
New Zealand households could save as much as $95 billion dollars by 2040 if the country fully electrifies the economy, according to an international renewable energy advocate. Audio
Floating solar farms at sea: NZ "ripe for them"
Floating solar panels are being developed to sit on the ocean's surface, providing power to ships and shore. Børge Bjørneklett's Norwegian company, Ocean Sun already has them in operation in the… Video, Audio
Research on reluctance to install solar power cells
The rate of take up on solar technology in New Zealand is stubbornly slow. Dr Yvonne Matthews from NIWA has been given a Marsden Fund grant to look into the value of solar cells of Aotearoa. She talks… Audio
Aotearoa's largest solar farm to shine in winterless north
The country's switch to greener energies has a boost today, with the first sod turned on what's expected to be Aotearoa's largest solar farm.
The $30 million farm is being set up near Pukenui in the… Audio
DC/AC - adapting the grid to renewables
Professor Neville Watson from the University of Canterbury's school of Electrical and Computer Engineering is leading the 'Architecture of the Future Low Carbon, Resilient, Electrical Power System'… Audio
The Suburban Solar Conundrum
The combination of solar panels, electricity storage batteries, smart household gadgets, and a boring looking black box is set to change forever how our electricity system works.
But do we need… Audio
Solar power aspirations of a small Canadian town
Greg Robinson tells Kathryn how his hometown of Raymond in Alberta wants to be the first town in Canada to power itself using only solar panels. Audio, Gallery
Beyond gas and oil: Can alternative energy save Taranaki?
Taranaki is wrestling with it's economic future after the government banned new offshore oil exploration. Robin Martin asks if alternative fuels could be the region's saviour. Audio
Mirror magic: boosting solar
From a few panels on your rooftop to the giant solar farms spreading around the globe, cheaper solar tech has been boosting demand for this type of renewable energy throughout the world. In the US a… Audio
India – cow ambulances and the solar boom
A new private ambulance service has launched in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh... but this one's not for people, it's for cows. Plus, as solar power prices fall to a record low, India is… Audio
Report: Electricity technology will harm the poor
The report says technology such as solar panels and high-performance batteries are likely to make 80 percent of low income people worse off, as Eric Frykberg reports. Audio
World-first solar powered, desalinating tomato farm
A South Australia farm is producing two truckloads of truss tomatoes every day using nothing but seawater and the power of the sun. Audio, Gallery
Typing monkeys
Science news with Dr Chris Smith. A team at Stanford is using brain computer interfaces to get monkeys to type at speeds of up to 12 words per minute. Throw in some predictive text (good old… Audio
'Electricity system is broken'
The Electricity Authority's decision to allow an electricity company to charge solar users a tax has astonished a renewable energy lobby group.
Tipping point for home electricity production
Malcolm McCulloch is a renewable energy expert from the UK who says we will soon be at the tipping point for home generated electricity. He is an electrical engineer and the head of Oxford… Audio
Transpower predicts massive shakeup in power sector
The country's power grid operator is predicting a massive shakeup in the power sector including the failure of some lines companies amid a big uptake of new technologies such as solar. Transpower CEO… Audio
NZ and UAE inaugurate Solomons' solar farm
New Zealand and the UAE complete a major solar array project in Solomon Islands. Audio
Solar company files legal complaint against Unison's solar tax
A solar panel supplier has asked the Electricity Authority to stop a Hawke's Bay lines company imposing an extra charge on customers who install solar panels. Audio
The race for rare earths
If the world is to limit itself to two degrees of global warming it will need to rapidly embrace new power sources and energy efficient technologies. At the heart of those technologies is a group of… Audio
