New Zealand: Energy
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.
Jobs ahead for 24m renewable energy workers
30 May 2017
The number of people employed in the renewable energy sector across the globe could rise to 24 million by 2030.
Road transport killing our clean-energy benefits
29 May 2017
The climate benefits of New Zealand’s increasing use of renewable electricity generation are being wiped out by our love affair with road transport.
TUNNEL VISION: New energy lines up job for old mines
29 May 2017
Abandoned coal shafts could be turned into giant storage devices to hold vast amounts of renewable power.
World's largest floating solar platform just went on line
29 May 2017
The world's largest floating solar energy platform has has gone on line in China.
Drought brings drop in greenhouse gas emissions
26 May 2017
New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions fell slightly in 2015 - but only because a drought forced dairy farmers to cut production.
Move over, Tesla, here come batteries made in Europe
24 May 2017
Battery-making gigafactories are about to arrive in Europe, challenging Tesla and opening the way for a quicker shift toward green power for both cars and utilities.
The new energy highway leads in one direction ... to the sun
23 May 2017
Humans consume 221 tonnes of coal, 1066 barrels of oil, and 93,000 metric cubes of natural gas per second.
Welcome to the Wild West world of deep-sea mining
23 May 2017
The International Seabed Authority is racing to draft regulations for the nascent deep-sea mining industry.
Sharing green energy tips good for cutting business costs
22 May 2017
Sharing energy-saving ideas such as using seawater pumps to heat buildings is helping big charities and businesses to cut costs while protecting the planet.
New Buller mines could emit CO2 of 3m cars
19 May 2017
Emissions resulting from potential new coal mines on the Buller plateau could put as much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere as another three million cars on New Zealand’s roads for the next 20 years, an environmental group warns.
UK nuclear industry faces Brexit fall-out
19 May 2017
Leaving the EU treaty that prevents radioactive waste falling into the wrong hands could prove costly for the UK nuclear industry.
World’s largest wind turbines go on line
19 May 2017
The largest wind turbines in the world have begun generating electricity off the coast of Liverpool.
Fossil fuel lobby could be forced to declare interests
18 May 2017
A push from developing countries to force fossil fuel lobbyists taking part in the Bonn climate talks to declare their conflicts of interest has won a significant battle against resistance from countries including New Zealand.
Indian coal plant gets $150m to sit idle
18 May 2017
An Indian coal-fired power plant is to be paid $150 million this financial year for generators that are sitting idle.
China (and others) pay for coal plants in Africa
17 May 2017
New coal plants in Africa are largely being paid for by China and developed countries that are turning away from the technology at home.
Vegan football club dines out on success
16 May 2017
Forest Green Rovers, a club based in Stroud, western England, and believed to be the first well-known “vegan” football club, hit the big time on Sunday after winning a Wembley play-off to reach the Football League in England for the first time.
SLIP SLINDING AWAY: Big Oil losing its grip on power
15 May 2017
With oil prices remaining low, hopes of combating climate change through emissions reduction are improving as the oil industry shrinks.
Europe opens door to Canada’s dirty oil
15 May 2017
Oil extracted from tar sands is far more polluting than conventional hydrocarbons. The EU’s decision to change the way it classifies the fuel is good news for Canadian exports and bad news for the environment.
Wood energy project start less than spectacular
12 May 2017
The Wood Energy South energy efficiency programme has prevented just 530 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions being released, Parliament has heard.
Indian solar power prices hit record low
12 May 2017
Wholesale solar power prices have reached another record low in India, faster than analysts predicted and further undercutting the price of fossil fuel-generated power in the country.
Problems with nuclear waste launch a gold rush
10 May 2017
Staggering sums of money involved in the long-term challenge of solving the world’s nuclear waste problems make it a booming business.
Germany’s weekend powered 85% by renewables
9 May 2017
Renewable energy sources – including wind and solar – provided the majority of Germany’s power over the weekend, generating more than 85 per cent of electricity on Sunday.
Our big houses bad for better insulation
8 May 2017
The benefits of better home insulation are being cancelled out by the trend toward bigger houses.
Spray on, printables next for the solar panel market
5 May 2017
Thin film technology is touted as a gamechanger for the solar panel market, but it’s not without drawbacks.
Coal price of $150 a tonne key to new Coast mine
3 May 2017
The Government is counting on a coking-coal price of $US150 a tonne in estimates about the economic benefits of proposed new mining on the Buller Plateau.
Clean energy now employs over 9.4 million
3 May 2017
More than 9.4 million people across the world are now employed in the renewable energy sector.
It takes only a few countries to kickstart a revolution
2 May 2017
In 2016, more renewable energy was added to the global grid than ever before, and at a lower cost. A global energy revolution is clearly under way.
Power plants must cut emissions under new EU rules
1 May 2017
POWER plants in the EU will have to cut the amount of toxic pollutants such as nitrogen oxides they emit under new rules approved by member states.
Is deep sea mining worth the risk?
28 Apr 2017
Scientists have discovered massive amounts of a rare metal called tellurium, a key element in cutting-edge solar technology.
UK acts to get gas out of the atmosphere
27 Apr 2017
The UK has launched a £8.6 million national research programme to investigate how to remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, the first of its kind.
Cuts to climate finance put exports in jeopardy: Lawyers
23 May 2025
By Liz Kivi | The government has halved international climate finance, a move aid organisations describe as “devastating,” and which lawyers say could put our Paris Agreement commitments and export market access at risk.
Fed Farmers ‘ready to go into battle’ over methane target
21 May 2025
Federated Farmers say they will never accept a 24% methane reduction target, and they are prepared to go into battle with the government over the issue.
Carbon price too low to fund carbon capture
20 May 2025
The government’s climate target to 2030 is at risk, after revelations that a carbon capture project which the government was relying on to deliver one third of its carbon reductions, might not go ahead.
While govt ‘refreshes’ fund for low carbon trucks, are transport emissions set to accelerate?
Wed 28 May 2025
By Liz Kivi | The government has announced it is updating the Low Emissions Heavy Vehicle Fund, however cuts to funds to decarbonise transport in last week’s budget, and potential changes to road user charges, could stall transport emissions reductions.
Council delays forestry plan as national rules remain unclear
21 May 2025
Tairāwhiti’s forestry reforms are facing fresh delays, with Gisborne District Council now tying its plan changes to national direction that remains uncertain.
Kiwi cleantech companies on the world stage
Tue 27 May 2025
Six New Zealand 'cleantech' companies were in Singapore earlier this month, along with a venture capital firm and the MacDiarmid Institute, to meet investors and multinational partners.
