Speaking at Electrify Nelson on Saturday 29 August, Roger Robson-Williams will be sharing his electrification journey and proving that this is a viable option for everyone, not just those with an engineering degree.
As Roger says of his re:generation initiative:
I’m not an electricityologist, just a bloke with an electric tractor.
Roger and his wife Melissa live on a small holding in Oxford, Canterbury and began their electrification journey approximately five years ago. Melissa is an environmental scientist and Roger is a Chief Sustainability Officer, so they wanted to explore what they could do to make the most of their land, particularly growing their own food and improving the biodiversity, and doing this in a much more energy efficient way.
They have a fully integrated system which includes battery, solar and EVs. In March 2026, they calculated an actual saving of $1,221 – that’s just one month of savings. That was combined with an added bonus of avoiding roughly 800kg of CO2e emissions.
They’ve made great use of their electric vehicles, even achieving bi-directional charging from their Kia EV9, using it as a generator input to top up the battery at their house.
They aren’t off grid but are making use of their electrification to provide much needed energy security and resilience. Roger believes in places with weaker grid infrastructure, this isn’t just about energy optimisation, it’s about access. Having solar plus an EV or electric tractor could be the difference between having electricity and not having it at all.
“Speaking at Electrify Nelson will give me the opportunity to share the learnings I wish someone had shared with us when we started out, about what is possible and how to get started”.
His electric tractor (there are five currently being used across New Zealand) enables him to use 230-volt hand tools around the farm, without needing to carry a heavy and noisy generator with him as he can charge wherever he is.
Given how successful their approach has been, Roger has set up the EV-Tractor Shed on LinkedIn to engage with others who could learn and take advantage of this electrified approach.
However, there are still challenges to engaging more people across New Zealand with this approach. Roger puts some of this down to our emphasis on short-term and not long-term thinking.
“We see diesel as being a cheaper alternative, yet we have a limited supply which is reliant on imports. It’s often hard for us to think of the longer-term benefit of investing now in solar and other electric options, but it is a much more reliable alternative.”
Roger hopes that after listening to his experience during the Electrify Nelson Expo, the first thing people will do is go straight to their nearest solar supplier and ask about what is possible for them.
Electrify Nelson Expo | Sat 29 Aug | 9am-4pm | FREE event
