New Zealand: Energy
Here comes the sun: solar surge gathers pace
Tue 4 Nov 2025
More than $700 million of new solar investment advanced last week, underscoring the pace of the renewable buildout.
Scrutiny on energy security
Mon 3 Nov 2025
A special debate in Parliament put the Government’s energy security agenda under scrutiny, with parties splitting sharply over the role of gas, the place of an LNG import terminal, and how far to push market reform to ease pressure on power bills.
Foresta welcomes Government support for Kawerau plant
Thu 30 Oct 2025
By Diane McCarthy, Local Democracy Reporter | A $9 million Government boost to wood energy production has been welcomed by a company with its sights set on building a torrefied wood pellet plant in Kawerau.
EA chair resigns, questions remain about regulators’ role
29 Oct 2025
Electricity Authority chair Anna Kominik’s resignation has drawn fresh attention to long-standing questions about the role, capability and independence of energy regulators.
Lake Onslow battery project set for revival?
29 Oct 2025
A newly formed private consortium has emerged with plans to finance and build the massive Lake Onslow pumped-hydro project, despite the coalition government’s decision to abandon the scheme.
Bill to ban new coal mines fails at first reading
24 Oct 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | A bid to outlaw new coal mines was defeated at its first hurdle in Parliament this week, after a heated debate pitting climate imperatives against energy security and affordability.
Genesis doubles down on Huntly as renewables ramp up
24 Oct 2025
Genesis Energy is doubling down on Huntly’s role as New Zealand’s energy backstop while accelerating one of the country’s largest pipelines of new renewable generation.
Govt launches strategy backing wood-based heat sector
23 Oct 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Forestry biomass could replace as much as 40% of fossil fuel-generated process heat by 2050, but access to supply, regulatory settings and business cases for converting to wood-based heat sources are required, the Government says in a series of documents released yesterday.
Penk relaxes consenting for rooftop solar
23 Oct 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Government has introduced new consent exemptions designed to streamline the installation of rooftop solar panels across New Zealand.
Wet spring lifts gentailers into strongest start since 2021
22 Oct 2025
New Zealand’s main electricity generators head into summer with lake levels well above average and wholesale prices holding firm, setting up a strong start to the 2026 financial year and easing price pressure after two years of volatile supply.
Electricity Authority proposes doubling solar export limits to 10 kW
20 Oct 2025
The Electricity Authority is proposing a default 10kW export limit for small-scale generation, saying new inverter standards and voltage settings allow homes and businesses to feed more power into local networks without compromising safety.
Transpower tracks more than 100 new grid projects
14 Oct 2025
Transpower’s latest connection data show more than 100 generation, storage and load projects in its pipeline, reflecting the rapid pace of electrification across the country.
LNG and purchasing power
13 Oct 2025
Cabinet’s electricity reforms put two tools on the table to shore up energy security – leveraging the Crown’s purchasing power and advancing a liquefied natural gas (LNG) import option, both aimed at tackling the dry-year shortfall when hydro lakes run low and prices spike.
The dry year problem
7 Oct 2025
One of the most pressing problems confronting New Zealand’s electricity system is the “dry-year challenge” – the risk that low hydro inflows coincide with falling domestic gas supply, leaving the system without enough firm capacity to keep prices stable.
Solar farm gets fast-track treatment
6 Oct 2025
Lodestone Energy’s proposed 220 MW solar farm at Haldon Station in the Mackenzie Basin has become the first solar project to be referred to an expert panel under the Fast-track Approvals Act 2024.
Electricity to remain in ETS
1 Oct 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | The Government has rejected Frontier Economics' recommendation that electricity should be removed from the Emissions Trading Scheme.
Decision due on electricity market reforms
30 Sep 2025
The Government is set to release electricity market reforms, though many are likely to be disappointed at the outcome.
Govt opens all of NZ for new oil and gas exploration
26 Sep 2025
By Liz Kivi | Fossil fuel companies can once again apply for new prospecting and exploration permits beyond onshore Taranaki for the first time since the previous government’s 2018 ban, in a move welcomed by the sector but slammed by environmental groups.
EV batteries could power NZ's grid – study
25 Sep 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | EV batteries could ease peak demand by exporting power back to homes and the grid, with large potential cost savings for EV owners and electricity consumers, according to a new study.
More Kiwi households turn to solar as energy costs mount
24 Sep 2025
Rising power prices are driving more households to consider switching to solar, with nearly half of New Zealanders considering installing solar panels or already having them installed, according to new research.
UPDATE: EECA opens $4 million solar fund for farms
24 Sep 2025
Farmers are being offered new support to bring solar and battery systems onto their properties, with EECA opening a Solar on Farms Demonstration Fund worth up to $200,000 per site.
Genesis inks coal deal for domestic supply at Huntly
23 Sep 2025
Genesis Energy will increase domestic coal supplies for Huntly Power Station under a new deal with BT Mining.
Solar households to get little-noticed tax break
23 Sep 2025
A provision in the government’s latest tax bill would exempt households from paying tax on income they earn by selling excess electricity back to the grid.
Govt tweaks offshore energy bill with 'declared areas' model
17 Sep 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Government is making changes to the Offshore Renewable Energy Bill to address offshore wind developers' concerns about competing for space with other industries.
Gentailers told to behave as ministers weigh Frontier review
17 Sep 2025
The chief executives of Contact, Meridian, Mercury and Genesis met Energy and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts on Thursday for their regular monthly session.
Watts not considering removing electricity from ETS
16 Sep 2025
Energy and Climate Change Minister, Simon Watts, says he is “not currently considering” removing electricity generation from the Emissions Trading Scheme, as proposed by NZ First Minister Shane Jones.
Industry struggles with double-digit power price hikes
15 Sep 2025
As power prices surge by double-digit amounts for the second year in a row, industrial users can’t keep absorbing cost increases, the Major Electricity Users’ Group says.
Coal imports up 650%
12 Sep 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams and Liz Kivi | Coal imports are up 650% as generators stockpile the most polluting fossil fuel ahead of next winter.
Milestone for NZ Steel electrification
10 Sep 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | NZ Steel has passed an installation milestone for its new electric arc furnace, which will reduce emissions from the Glenbrook steel mill site by as much as one megatonne (1Mt) a year.
First supercritical geothermal site chosen
10 Sep 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Land within Rotokawa Geothermal Reservoir in the Taupō Volcanic Zone has been selected as a preferred site for New Zealand’s first supercritical geothermal exploration, with design work already underway to develop the first well, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says.
Contact tries again for Southland windfarm
10 Sep 2025
Contact Energy has reapplied for consent for its Southland wind-farm, lodging the project with the new fast-track regime after it was rejected earlier this year.
Meridian reports worst earnings in a decade
3 Sep 2025
Meridian Energy has posted its weakest result in 10 years, with earnings hit by a combination of droughts, low wind and declining gas supply.
Transpower on track to meet core emissions targets
1 Sep 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Transpower’s total greenhouse gas footprint increased year-on-year due to higher emissions from its value chain, but the company says that making sure infrastructure is in place to enable the country's energy transition is the biggest contribution it can make to reducing emissions.
Govt resilience plan 'dangerous fantasy' - thinktank
29 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | An independent thinktank, whose members include former Prime Minister Sir Geoffrey Palmer and multiple academics, is warning that the government’s long-term resilience strategy ignores physical and energy realities and exposes Kiwi households and businesses to systemic failure.
Profound shifts in our changing energy system – new data
27 Aug 2025
New Zealand’s energy system is undergoing a profound shift as falling gas production and a dry hydro year reshaped the electricity market in 2024, according to data from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s Energy in New Zealand 2025.
Meridian Energy considers green bond offer
25 Aug 2025
Meridian Energy is considering making an offer of up to $250 million of 6.5 year unsecured, unsubordinated, fixed rate green bonds to institutional and New Zealand retail investors.
NZ must strengthen energy system
19 Aug 2025
New Zealand must keep strengthening its energy system if it is to remain competitive on the world stage while moving towards net-zero emissions, according to a new benchmarking report from the BusinessNZ Energy Council.
Heat pumps could cut household energy bills by $1.5 billion a year
12 Aug 2025
By Liz Kivi | Heat pumps could save Kiwi households hundreds of millions of dollars each year, as well as freeing up energy for industrial users, according to a new report.
Gas pressure intensifies
12 Aug 2025
The pressure from reduced gas supply is pushing industries that rely on cheap gas out of the market in favour of those who can afford to pay more.
Gentailers to stockpile coal under new deal
5 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | An agreement between New Zealand’s four major electricity generators to establish a 10-year fuel reserve is being labelled a 'climate change stockpile', and could undermine momentum for renewable energy investment.
Warmer end to winter but dry spell expected over southern lakes
5 Aug 2025
As hydro lake levels hover just below average levels, climate forecasts indicate that warmer than usual weather conditions will reduce demand, but there will likely be less rain over the southern hydro lakes as New Zealand moves towards spring and summer.
A modest geothermal strategy
31 Jul 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | The Government has unveiled a far more modest geothermal energy strategy than its primary backer, Resources Minister Shane Jones, had sought.
Last minute change to oil and gas legislation over cleanup costs
31 Jul 2025
By Liz Kivi | The government is expected to repeal the oil and gas ban today, with a last-minute amendment handing discretionary power to two ministers over the controversial issue of decommissioning.
Hiringa eyes green methanol plant near Whanganui
29 Jul 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Green hydrogen pioneer Hiringa Energy is deep in planning to develop an “eight-to-nine figure” methanol plant near Whanganui, using a combination of biomass and hydrogen produced using renewable energy.
Taranaki mayors want hydrogen kick-start from Wellington
28 Jul 2025
By Craig Ashworth, Local Democracy Reporter Taranaki mayors want central government to partner up with their councils to kick-start a hydrogen industry. This despite ongoing questions about the gas’s effectiveness in reducing carbon emissions.
Electricity Authority’s first steps towards market reform
28 Jul 2025
The Electricity Authority announced its first decision in the raft being considered by its Energy Competition Taskforce work with the Commerce Commission.
Is extending Huntly power station to 2035 in consumers’ best interest?
22 Jul 2025
By Simon Orme | COMMENT: Genesis Energy is proposing a cartel to keep high-emitting Huntly Power Station in business to 2035. If extending Huntly has economic benefits, is a cartel necessary?
Importing LNG is feasible, but is it plausible?
18 Jul 2025
Importing liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a form of energy supply insurance is technically feasible, but an industry-commissioned report raises questions about whether it is financially plausible.
Fast, sustained phase-out of fossil fuels: best-performing countries in coal and transport sectors
10 Jul 2025
By Robert McLachlan | It’s true that climate change is getting worse – it will continue to get worse until emissions fall to near zero. But is action on phasing out fossil fuels really stalling?
North Canterbury locals get say over huge solar farm
10 Jul 2025
By David Hill, Local Democracy Reporter | North Canterbury residents are being encouraged to have their say on a proposed 180 hectare solar farm on a property near their village.
Govt weakens climate legislation, strips CCC’s powers
Today 12:00pm
By Liz Kivi | The Government has announced sweeping changes to key climate legislation, including stripping the independent Climate Change Commission of one of its core roles, and removing the requirement that Emissions Trading Scheme settings align with international climate targets.
AgriZero backs Aussie IVF innovator
Mon 3 Nov 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | The NZ government-led low carbon agriculture consortium AgriZero has invested A$1.5 million (NZ$1.7m) in a Queensland-based start-up looking to bring down the cost of inserting fertilised embryos into livestock.
Emissions down slightly - Stats NZ
24 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi | Greenhouse gas emissions fell 1.5% in the June 2025 quarter, although the decline seems to reflect the economy continuing to contract rather than Aoteoroa inching towards decarbonisation goals.
Christchurch Airport boasts world-first liquid-hydrogen refuelling for test aircraft
Thu 30 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi | Local companies working on hydrogen-electric flight have made ‘a significant step forward’ in successfully filling aviation tanks with liquid hydrogen produced and stored on-site at an international airport for the first time.
From pines to natives: Nelson's forestry reset begins
29 Oct 2025
By Max Frethey, Local Democracy Reporter | Nelson City Council’s transition away from clear-fell pine forestry is well underway with around 74,000 trees planted in the Maitai and Marsden Valleys this winter.
Vero warns losses to rise 26% by 2050 over extreme weather
29 Oct 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Extreme weather could drive a 19–26% spike in annual insurance losses by 2050, fuelled by rising seas and more intense flooding, according to Vero’s latest Climate-Related Disclosures Report.
