New Zealand: Energy
Coal misinformation is distorting the facts
17 Oct 2017
A recent story in the global media on 621 plants being built globally was played up in various media – but the figure is way off the mark.
Is your Auckland rooftop suitable for solar?
13 Oct 2017
Got a roof in Auckland? A new computer tool will help you to figure out how many solar panels will fit on it and the economics of installing the system.
Fossil fuels win billions in public money after Paris pact
13 Oct 2017
Billions of dollars of public money was sunk in new fossil fuel projects by the world’s major development banks in the year after the Paris climate change deal was agreed, according to campaigners.
UK and Canada lay down coal power challenge
13 Oct 2017
The UK and Canada challenge other nations to join them in committing to end coal power generation, saying “we are doing our part”.
BLOWN AWAY: It could be one wind farm to rule them all
12 Oct 2017
The entire world could be powered by one deep-sea wind farm stretching across the North Atlantic.
SHINING EXAMPLE: Solar power fastest-growing energy source
6 Oct 2017
Solar power was the fastest-growing source of new energy worldwide last year, outstripping the growth in all other forms of power generation for the first time.
Europe gives diesel $11bn a year in tax breaks
29 Sep 2017
Diesel fuel, a major cause of toxic air pollution in cities, was handed $NZ34 billion in tax breaks in the EU between 2014 and 2016, new research has found.
Getting energy from water evaporation is not just hot air
27 Sep 2017
Harvesting power from naturally evaporating water could become a new form of renewable energy, according to an American study.
More countries eye turning waste into energy
25 Sep 2017
Countries with large quantities of waste from forestry, manure or straw from farms are now looking for economic ways to turn them into forms of renewable energy.
Cash shortfall stops electricity reaching world’s poor
20 Sep 2017
Finance for electrification of developing countries is flowing at less than half the rate needed to achieve the global goal of universal access by 2030.
Silicon fires up renewable energy revolution
13 Sep 2017
Large blocks of silicon storing wind and solar power as heat are the latest innovation in the battle to replace all fossil fuels with renewable energy.
FUEL FACT: We're burning more oil than ever
8 Sep 2017
New Zealand is burning more oil than ever, despite pledges to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
Biofuel breakthroughs bring negative emissions closer
1 Sep 2017
If we are to have any real chance of avoiding catastrophic climate change, it is not enough to reduce our emissions; we must put the process into reverse.
Wind, solar and water could be powerhouses by 2050
29 Aug 2017
More than 70 per cent of the countries in the world could run entirely on energy created by wind, water and solar by 2050, according to scientists.
Phase-out of fossil fuels can be painless
28 Aug 2017
A pollution-free world driven by renewable energy is possible, say scientists with a plan for a fossil fuel phase-out for 139 countries.
Carbon capture has failed ... but here's what we could do
28 Aug 2017
For years, optimists have talked up carbon capture and storage as an essential part of taking emissions out of electricity generation.
Fossil fuel subsidies are a staggering $5 trillion a year
8 Aug 2017
A new study finds 6.5 per cent of global GDP goes to subsidising dirty fossil fuels. That's more than $5 trillion a year.
Solar most popular form of new electricity generation
7 Aug 2017
Solar has become the world’s favourite new type of electricity generation.
Nuclear revival looks set to falter
7 Aug 2017
Hopes of a nuclear revival to combat climate change have been dashed as another prestige project runs into trouble.
Now Tesla wants to unite batteries and offshore wind
3 Aug 2017
Tesla and wind farm developer Deepwater Wind are teaming up to create the world's largest project that combines an offshore wind farm with large-scale electricity storage.
Free footy tickets lure oil workers to renewables
19 Jul 2017
Redundant North Sea energy workers are being offered free football tickets to build revolutionary new electricity storage systems.
Some biofuels worse than fossil fuels, warns report
18 Jul 2017
Biofuel use needs to increase to help to fight climate change as liquid fuels will be needed by aircraft and ships for many decades to come, finds a new report requested by the UK government.
Wood-for-coal switch would save us millions
14 Jul 2017
Using wood instead of coal to provide industrial heat would cut New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions by 460,000 tonnes and save more than $11 million a year in carbon credits, a new report says.
Handful of fossil fuel producers feed global emissions
11 Jul 2017
A mere 25 fossil fuel producers have accounted for just over half of global greenhouse emissions emissions in the past three decades, a new report says.
It's nonsense to say fracking can be made safe
30 Jun 2017
research can help to produce guidelines to reduce the risks associated with fracking, but ultimately it makes no sense to talk of fracking being entirely safe.
State should show the way, says bioenergy group
29 Jun 2017
The Government needs to put its new energy efficiency strategy into place – and State-owned operations are the place to start, says the Bioenergy Assocation.
Fossil lobbies threaten to scupper renewables in South Africa
29 Jun 2017
South African power utility Eskom recently repeated that it will not conclude supply contracts with the developers of new renewable energy power stations.
Closing nuclear plants threatens climate targets
29 Jun 2017
Closing nuclear plants in Europe and North America from 2020 threatens global plans to cut carbon emissions unless governments build new nuclear plants or expand the use of renewables.
Cutting emissions would slow growth, officials claim
28 Jun 2017
The Government is dealing with criticism of its industrial emissions target by turning it into a bottom line instead of a goal.
Science splits ranks over fossil fuel phase-out
28 Jun 2017
US academics are arguing with ferocity about how to achieve a fossil fuel phase out. But, for now, the debate is entirely academic.
Energy major talks of falling fossil fuel demand
27 Jun 2017
One of the world’s biggest energy companies sees problems ahead with falling fossil fuel demand and huge growth in renewables.
Renewable energy no longer niche investment
26 Jun 2017
Institutional investors remain eager to put money to work on renewable energy projects even as US President Donald Trump has vowed to revive their chief competitor: coal.
Not so much coal about ... but we're burning more
23 Jun 2017
New Zealand’s coal consumption is climbing.
Top banks still lend billions to extract fossil fuels
23 Jun 2017
Some of the world’s top banks are continuing to lend tens of billions for extracting the most carbon-intensive fossil fuels, according to a report of top lenders.
Renewables investment by 2040 will be in the trillions
23 Jun 2017
More than $10 trillion will be invested in new power generation capacity by 2040, of which nearly three-quarters will be in renewables.
SUCKER PUNCH: Plant pulls CO2 directly from the air
23 Jun 2017
On the roof of a waste incinerator outside Zurich, a Swiss firm has built the world’s first commercial plant to suck CO2 directly from the air.
Government keeps lid on Buller mining papers
22 Jun 2017
The Government is refusing to release briefing papers on proposed new coal mines on the Buller Plateau.
Tyre mountains will be turned into biofuels
22 Jun 2017
An Otaki company with a plan to turn mountains of waste tyres into biofuels says the key to success is processing them at multiple sites around the country.
World’s largest coal company to retire 37 mines
21 Jun 2017
The largest coal mining company in the world, Coal India, has announced plans to decommission a total of 37 mines which are no longer economically viable.
OCEAN OIL: Algae strain doubles fuel production
20 Jun 2017
Making biofuel from algae has just got a little bit easier - a newly engineered strain produces twice as much oil as its wild parent.
Solar power will kill coal much quicker than anyone thought
19 Jun 2017
Solar power is becoming cheap enough to push coal and even natural-gas plants out of business faster than previously forecast.
TOWER POWER: Another solar system is on the march
16 Jun 2017
Solar generation systems can now produce electricity and store it for hours, using solar tower power without any need for batteries.
Global demand for coal falls for second year in row
15 Jun 2017
Global demand for coal has fallen for the second consecutive year, according to a BP study, helped by the US and China burning less of the dirtiest fossil fuel.
Coal is dead, says world’s largest investment group
14 Jun 2017
BlackRock investment group, with $5 trillion in assets, is bullish on electric cars and renewables.
What biofutures need is America's Cup energy
13 Jun 2017
New Zealand could have a thriving biofutures industry, producing clean products from waste and cutting greenhouse gas emissions, if it put as much effort into addressing climate change as it puts into the America’s Cup yacht race, says the Bioenergy Association.
Costa Rica bids for world’s cleanest transport system
13 Jun 2017
Riding atop one of the world’s greenest electrical grids, Costa Rica is now aiming for the next logical step: having the cleanest transport system on the planet.
Farm waste could feed industry worth millions
12 Jun 2017
EDITORIAL | Queensland’s drive to develop a $100-million-a-year industry turning agricultural waste into bioproducts is exactly the type of thing New Zealand should be doing.
Coal India looks to diversify
9 Jun 2017
Coal India is looking to diversify its operations in the face of long-term uncertainty for coal because of the government’s thrust on renewable energy.
It's like taking nine million cars off the road
7 Jun 2017
More than 43 million voluntary carbon credits globally were retired last year – the equivalent of removing 9.3 million cars from the road, a new analysis says.
It's time for the oil industry to snuff out its flares
30 May 2017
The World Bank reckons the 16,000 flares worldwide produce around 350m tonnes of carbon dioxide each year, causing untold harm.
'Atrocious' and 'bizarre': experts slam Act Party's climate policy
Wed 3 Sep 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Act Party is promising to challenge New Zealand’s Paris Agreement climate target, while the coalition Government’s other minor partner, NZ First, also says it wants to reevaluate the country’s commitment to the international treaty.
International scientists slam NZ govt's proposed approach to methane
13 Aug 2025
New Zealand's proposed approach to methane emissions has again been attacked by international climate scientists, with a new study saying the attempt to redefine climate target-setting by livestock-exporting countries undermines the transition to a sustainable and equitable food system
Marginal drop in last year's regional emissions
27 Aug 2025
Regional greenhouse gas emissions were down slightly last year, with a fall in gas supply leading to a big drop in Taranaki, but more coal burnt leading to higher emissions in Waikato, according to new figures from Stats NZ
Air NZ declares surprisingly low SAF prices
Wed 3 Sep 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Air New Zealand is able to source sustainable aviation fuel at between 1.5 and 2.5 times the price of conventional fossil fuels used for flying, all sourced from the US.
Certainty crucial to emissions cuts – Watts
20 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says that policy certainty is the Government’s primary lever for unlocking private capital and meeting climate targets, telling a carbon forestry conference that ETS settings are 'locked' through 2030.
Climate-friendly investment still lagging in NZ
Tue 2 Sep 2025
While local financial firms have made recent strides in climate governance and emissions reporting, New Zealand’s institutional investors are still missing in action when it comes to backing clean technologies and climate solutions, according to a new report.
