Mike Casey
on electrifying today, for tomorrow
Mike Casey’s approach to sustainability is as bold and unapologetic as the message emblazoned across his work: Whakahiko te ao – Electrify everything. For Mike, sustainability isn’t a passive aspiration—it’s an active pursuit grounded in data, driven by urgency, and infused with positivity.
His journey started, perhaps unexpectedly, with the sale of a successful startup in Australia. What followed wasn’t a retreat, but a return—to Aotearoa, to the whenua near Cromwell, and to a purpose that felt deeply necessary. With his wife, Mike bought land and planted a cherry orchard. It seemed like a good way to contribute to climate action—until climate scientist Carly Green helped quantify the impact.
While 9,300 cherry trees would sequester about three tonnes of CO₂ annually, the traditional diesel-run orchard setup would emit 50 tonnes each year. That contrast sparked something bigger. Mike made the call to run Forest Lodge Orchard entirely on electricity—tractors, frost fans, sprayers, even the motorbikes. And just like that, the world’s first fully electric orchard was born.
But Mike didn’t stop at innovation. He opened the gates. Over 12,000 people, many of them skeptical farmers, have walked the rows of Forest Lodge, witnessing firsthand how clean energy can power productivity. What they leave with isn’t just inspiration—it’s a shift in mindset.
Mike’s bigger mission is now playing out through Rewiring Aotearoa, a think-and-do tank pushing for widespread electrification across the country. To him, the path forward is clear: we don’t need to go backwards to go green. We can power our homes, farms, and businesses with local, clean energy. It’s a win for the climate, for our wallets, and for our national energy resilience.
He draws inspiration from Dr Saul Griffith and global initiatives like Rewiring America, bringing their ethos to New Zealand’s unique context. And while Mike’s work is driven by data, his message is refreshingly human. He doesn’t shame fossil fuels or ask people to sacrifice. Instead, he speaks in plain language—about costs, savings, and better alternatives.
What sets Mike apart is his clarity. Sustainability, he says, is an energy problem—and the solutions are within reach. It’s not about guilt; it’s about good choices. It’s about showing people that switching to electric is smart, not just ethical.
Funding, of course, remains a challenge. Rewiring Aotearoa is philanthropically supported, and to keep moving at speed, Mike knows they need backing. But what they’ve already achieved speaks volumes. Their impact is growing rapidly, and the momentum is hard to ignore.
For Mike, New Zealand’s superpower lies in its potential to lead—not by being perfect, but by being brave. “We have the resources,” he says. “Now we need the will.” And if Forest Lodge Orchard is anything to go by, showing what’s possible can be the spark that changes everything.
If there’s one seed of change Mike hopes to plant, it’s this: when it’s time to replace something—whether it’s a car, a heat pump, or a tractor—choose electric. It’s a simple decision with transformational power. Because sometimes, the most radical change starts with just plugging in.
Read Mike’s answers for this edition of BLOOMING Sustainability and embrace his positivity around Rewiring Aotearoa.
BLOOMING Sustainability Questionnaire
Name: Mike Casey
Company & Title: Rewiring Aotearoa CEO and co-owner of Forest Lodge Orchard
Website & LinkedIn Profile:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikesimoncasey/
* Guiding Values | Kaupapa
A quote, personal motto or whakataukī that reflects your vision:
Whakahiko te ao! Electrify everything!
If you could mentor a rising change-maker in Aotearoa, what advice would you share?
You can change perspectives, but it might happen one person at a time.
* Leading Change | Arataki
A key moment in your journey that shaped your path:
I can trace my electrification journey back to 2007 when I co-founded a business called GradConnection in Australia. It was sold to Seek in 2019, and my wife and I wanted to put some of our proceeds to good use and do something about climate change back home in New Zealand. We ended up buying some land near Cromwell and decided to plant a cherry orchard.
We thought planting lots of cherry trees was a pretty good option as far as climate action went. Luckily, we hired climate scientist Carly Green to prove just how worthy we were, and her calculations showed that planting 9,300 of them would remove about three tonnes of Co2 emissions per year. Not too bad, but there was another much bigger number she gave us that caught our attention: if we ran the orchard in the traditional manner and bought diesel tractors, motorbikes, sprayers and frost-fighting fans, we would be pumping out around 50 tonnes of carbon emissions each year, or about 18 times the carbon we’d be sucking up via our trees.
We decided to ditch the diesel and gas and go fully electric, and we’ve been really transparent about the numbers. It’s a tribute to the power of a demonstration project and over 12,000 people have visited the orchard to see how it all works, including a lot of sceptical conservative farmers who tend to leave thinking it’s just a smart business decision.
What’s the main challenge you face in driving sustainability within your sector?
People’s priorities are often wrong. Recycling or having shorter showers won’t solve climate change. Planting trees won’t either. Climate change is largely an energy problem. Machines use that energy. Our belief - and our beliefs are always backed up with data - is that we could substitute a lot of our small fossil fuel machines for electric versions and run them off locally made electricity rather than expensive, volatile Saudi Arabian oil and expensive, dwindling domestic gas supplies. This would save everyone money, slash our emissions, improve our economy and strengthen our energy system. That’s one hell of a win-win-win-win and it can appeal to everyone, no matter their political beliefs.
We also need to move away from the idea that we need to go backwards, sacrifice something or pay more for sustainability. Dr Saul Griffith who founded Rewiring America and Rewiring Australia has said “Climate action must pass the ‘is it ready and does it work?’ test.
An area you need more support with:
We are a philanthropically funded ‘think / do tank’ so funding is the main concern. We need to keep the funding coming in so we can keep doing this important work. We’re all about rapid transformation at Rewiring Aotearoa. And we believe we are leading a new, more positive movement in the climate space. I am a megaphone for the amazing work our team does and so many people have been so impressed by Rewiring’s sudden and dramatic rise and the impact we’re having, both among homeowners and decision-makers. So, if there’s anyone out there who wants to support our important work, get in touch.
Your best approach for engaging stakeholders in meaningful dialogue about ESG:
We like to talk about substitution rather than sacrifice when it comes to sustainability and we tend to put the economics ahead of the emissions, because, when it comes down to it, that's what most people care about.
We are positive, pragmatic and transparent and we try to communicate our data in ways that everyday New Zealanders will understand by using analogies, comparisons and infographics. We don't like to demonise fossil fuels as they have been central to human progress and instead we talk about the arrival of a better, cheaper, cleaner energy source that is now taking over. We prefer to focus on how the future could be better and we use personal stories of those who have already electrified to speed up the 'neighbourhood effect' because humans are herding creatures and tend to follow what others do if it’s seen as normal.
What do you think is Aotearoa’s superpower in creating a sustainable future?
Forest Lodge has definitely influenced other farmers to consider electric options and I’m constantly offering advice to farmers who are keen to get solar and batteries installed and reduce their costs. There is so much interest in the rural sector now because the energy you generate yourself will be the cheapest energy you can get. We could be a demonstration project for the global agricultural sector. As an entrepreneur, the world’s first electric orchard was a great achievement, but I’m always looking for ways to scale my impact and I truly believe New Zealand can become the world’s most electric economy. We have all the resources. We just need the will (and the policies) to make it happen.
* Surfing the Green Wave | Kakariki
Events in Aotearoa or globally that you think are must-attend:
Electrify Queenstown is coming up in May and that two-day conference is certainly riding a wave of electrification, so get down there if you want to see what the future looks like. The region has started to grasp that there is a massive opportunity to lead the world and become the world’s most electric destination.
A sustainable initiative or project in Aotearoa that deserves more attention:
While we need a range of solutions for different environmental issues and there are so many people doing great work in this space, my view is that electrification is the thing that deserves more attention because so many people are unaware of the impact they can have when it comes to reducing emissions.
If your work could plant one seed of change for the future, what would it be?
I have tried to show other farmers what’s possible with the all-electric orchard. I want New Zealand to show the world what’s possible. I also want to show that the electric future can be fun. We can have nice lives, strong economies and a safer climate if we rapidly embrace electrification.
The leader(s) you endorse for a future edition of Blooming Sustainability:
Mat Woods, Destination Queenstown
* One actionable takeaway for our readers to make a change today for a brighter tomorrow:
When the time comes, make your next purchasing decision electric. It will save you money in the long run and if every household, farm and business in New Zealand did it we would slash our emissions.