Building the lighthouse for a better energy future.
The QEA accelerates the electrification of homes and businesses, and works to ensure no one is left behind on energy. We bring forward the benefits of lower bills, lower emissions, and higher resilience to the whole community, while making Queenstown a lighthouse for New Zealand and the world's energy future.
What is electrification?
Electrification is the replacement of fossil fuel machines (gas, petrol, diesel) with electric ones. Because electric machines are so much more efficient, they can do the same job using only a quarter to a third of the energy. Combining this with cheap electricity from rooftop solar means homes can save thousands every year, and businesses even more. If you're someone that likes the details, you can see our research papers Electric Homes, The Electrification Opportunity, and The Machine Count.
Heating
Heat pumps are 3x to 4x the efficiency of gas space heaters, a Queenstown home heating rooms with bottled gas at the moment can expect to save about $1000 - $2000 per year on energy bills if they swap it out for electric heat pumps.
Water Heating
Hot water heat pumps use about 70% less energy than gas water heaters, a Queenstown home switching from bottled gas to an electric heat pump can expect to save about $400 - $800 per year, even more when combined with solar.
Vehicles
Electric vehicles are about 4x more efficient than petrol vehicles, and can save hundreds or often over a thousand dollars a year on fuel costs depending how much you drive.
Cooking
Induction cooktops are 2x - 3x more efficient than gas, can boil water faster, save money on bills, and improve indoor air quality. They are easier to clean as a bonus.
Rooftop Solar
Rooftop solar is the lowest cost electricity for most homes New Zealand, and can often save around $500 - $1500 per year all costs included. Financing solar means you can save money from day one.
Batteries
Batteries can further lower energy bills especially when combined with solar, and crucially provide backup energy resilience especially relevant with Queenstown's AF8 earthquake risk.
Local Stories
Lighthouse innovation project
The world’s most electrified destination, one home and business at a time.
QEA is here to help homes and businesses electrify, to save money on bills, strengthen resilience, reduce emissions, and to become a lighthouse destination that leads the world in sustainable tourism. Together, we're aiming to make Queenstown the first destination on Earth powered entirely by clean energy.
This is no small goal and we appreciate it's scale and ambition. If you're a business or individual who wants to help drive world-leading energy innovation in the adventure capital of the world, we'd love to hear from you.
Quotes about QEA
There’s a massive opportunity to power the local economy with cheap, locally made electrons, many of them generated via solar on rooftops, rather than expensive foreign fossil fuel molecules that come from half way around the world. This will keep money in the community, create local jobs, and hopefully make Queenstown globally recognisable as a leader in low cost, high resilience, and low emissions energy.
The Queenstown Electrification Accelerator will showcase how an electrified energy system using smart demand-side flexibility has the potential to defer network and transmission investment, saving consumers money and providing greater regional resilience. The Authority is supporting this project through its Power Innovation Pathway due to its potential to deliver consumer benefits.
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Embrace and be part of a smart electric future. I’ve loved every step of our own journey. From building smart and welcoming our first electric car in 2016, to now running on grid tied plus 9 Powerwalls, 170+ solar panels, and an electric fleet of bikes, motorbikes, and vehicles. Electric technologies have given us cleaner energy, lower costs, greater control, and the comfort of knowing we’re future-proofing our home and business. Even small, smart changes add up to powerful results, protecting our environment and building resilient communities for our temporary locals, our tamariki, and the generations to come. The time is now.
“One of the only ways we’ll get there is to rapidly adopt existing electric technology in our homes and businesses. We need to focus on the things we can do now while the harder challenges - like aviation - continue to be worked on. There is a first mover advantage and economic benefits for the region, and it is a chance for us to create a real visionary point of difference that strengthens Queenstown’s place in the world through the energy transition.”
"Right now the whole district Is looking to electrify, be it for environmental, financial or resilience reasons. QLDC is proud to support the QEA because they are leading the charge locally."
There are countless reasons to electrify everything, and even more reasons to act now, with urgency. Nearly every machine we use every day has a cleaner, more affordable (over its lifetime), and simpler electric alternative, not to mention one that’s often more enjoyable to use than the fossil-fuelled versions we take for granted. For a resilient community, a thriving environment, and a better future for our manuhiri and our kids, our mission is clear: electrify everything, for everyone.
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As energy costs continue to rise and resilience becomes increasingly critical, businesses are actively seeking solutions that deliver long-term efficiency, cost savings, and security of supply. The Queenstown Electrification Accelerator is a highly impactful initiative that is accelerating this transition. By providing businesses with access to trusted information and technical expertise, it removes barriers to action and gives organisations the confidence to invest in more resilient, low-emissions energy solutions.
We want to give a huge thanks to the team at Queenstown Electrification Accelerator! You've been awesome and completely sorted me out with answers on home solar and battery setups. Jade was just as brilliant, walking me through the electric hot water heat pump options and clearing up my worries about outdoor storage tanks and freezing. QEA provides such a stellar service to the community, helping us all electrify everything heaps faster. I’ve also put my neighbours onto you, and your team looked after them and answered all their questions, too. I highly recommend you guys to everyone that wants to be a part of the solution!
Thanks to the quality work by QEA our funding applications have been warmly received by large regional and national funders and we have already raised over 50% of the funds required. We are confident that the project will proceed over this summer 2026/27... I personally have been in the construction and project management industry for over 40 years, and would rate QEA’s enthusiasm dedication and professionalism with the very best of the many hundreds of consultants and advisors that I have worked with around the world.
What I valued most about the QEA was that they didn't just help me act, they helped me think. They flagged things I'd have missed on my own, like where gas and electricity prices were heading, and gave me real options to compare. I came away genuinely confident I'd chosen the right system, rather than just guessing.
Sustainable Queenstown exists to inspire and empower our community to make more sustainable choices every day. For many households, some of the most important sustainability decisions they will make relate to how they heat their homes, travel, cook, and power their lives. The Queenstown Electrification Accelerator is helping make those decisions easier by providing trusted information, practical support, and opportunities for people to learn from one another. By helping residents reduce costs, strengthen resilience, and make more sustainable energy choices, QEA is building the knowledge, confidence and community capability needed to create a thriving and sustainable future for the Whakatipu region.
