New Zealand: Energy
Regional council gives thumbs down to jatropha
13 Feb 2009
A regional council charged with protecting 1.25 million hectares of New Zealand says we shouldn’t grow jatropha.
Scientist pioneers cheaper solar cells
13 Feb 2009
A research scientist with Industrial Research Limited has applied nano technology via quantum dots to produce more efficient solar cells that are designed become a composite part of the roofs of houses.
Kiwis a bit short on good ideas, UK expert says
10 Feb 2009
A British marine energy expert says New Zealand is lacking ideas and needs to do more to support the emergence of the marine energy industry.
Capital scraps over windfarms in parks
10 Feb 2009
Greater Wellington Regional Council’s commitment to sustainable energy is wavering in the face of protests from residents who see wind farms as environmental pollution.
Wellington to stage micro-turbines trials
10 Feb 2009
Energy distributor Vector Ltd has signed a joint venture with Scottish company Renewable Devices Swift Turbines, which manufactures micro-wind turbines.
Learn from us, says UK renewables expert
3 Feb 2009
New Zealand could take a leaf out of the British government’s book and provide incentives if it seriously wants to encourage the development of renewable energy technology, says a visiting expert.
JATROPHA: Toxic seeds could fool children
30 Jan 2009
The toxic seed of the jatropha plant – used to make biofuel - might be attractive to children, warns a New Zealand scientist.
Farmers fear fuel-source jatropha will kill stock
27 Jan 2009
Plans to grow the biofuel stock plant jatropha in New Zealand could run into opposition from farmers who fear it could kill their animals and become another “gorse”.
NZ could pay the price for Australian energy targets
27 Jan 2009
Australia’s mandatory renewable energy target of 20 per cent by 2020 could cost New Zealand investment dollars.
Biofuels a sham, says Goldsmith's ecology magazine
27 Jan 2009
The Wellington-based Pacific Institute of Resource Management - the Australasian arm of millionaire environmentalist Teddy Goldsmith - is denouncing the push for sustainable biofuels as the “most appalling sham.”
Australia better investment bet than NZ, says Trustpower
23 Jan 2009
Confusion over New Zealand policies is making Australia a better place in which to invest in renewable energy projects, says Trustpower.
Anxious Asian buyers try to rewrite NZ coal deals
23 Jan 2009
Export prices of US$300 per tonne fixed last year from Solid Energy’s Stockton mine and from the NZX-listed Pike River mine are under push-back from Asian consignees.
ETS puts NZ power users $360m behind Australia
20 Jan 2009
New Zealand electricity users are at a $360 million-a-year disadvantage when compared with our transtasman neighbours, thanks to the emissions trading scheme.
Timber plant pioneers geothermal sequestration
20 Jan 2009
A Taupo timber-processing plant is using a pioneering method of applied sequestration.
British developers keen to work with NZ on clean energy
20 Jan 2009
A UK-to-New Zealand mission on renewable and clean energy due to be held in Wellington from February 2 to 6 aims to encourage collaboration between researchers and developers working in the sector.
Environment Court confirms Mahinerangi windfarm
22 Dec 2008
The Environment Court has confirmed the resource consent conditions for TrustPower's proposed Mahinerangi Windfarm.
Greenpeace New Zealand Inc v Genesis Power Ltd
22 Dec 2008
Here is the Supreme Court judgement on the Greenpeace versus Gensis Power climate change case.
The new slavery - some say it's time to face up to the curse of oil
19 Dec 2008
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown sees dependence on oil as the modern version of slavery.
Board of inquiry into Turitea wind farm proposal
19 Dec 2008
Environment Minister Nick Smith today announced his decision to refer the Mighty River Power proposal for a 131-turbine wind farm at Turitea, near Palmerston North, to an independent Board of Inquiry.
Banks praise direct selling of carbon credits
16 Dec 2008
Trust Power’s direct marketing of its own carbon credits is being applauded in banking circles.
Ministry extends time for carbon-reporting comments
16 Dec 2008
The deadline for commenting on rules governing the way in which New Zealand’s largest industrial emitters of greenhouse gases report their carbon levels has been extended.
Brownlee urgently wipes thermal ban and biofuel requirement
16 Dec 2008
Laws requiring oil companies to sell biofuel and banning the building of new non-baseload thermal power stations are expected to be gone by the end of the week.
Crown Minerals taking oil offers to Asia
16 Dec 2008
Crown Minerals is to hit the road - specifically, the Silk Road - to generate interest in its new set of bidding rounds.
Lightbulb move angers NZ manufacturer
12 Dec 2008
A Christchurch manufacturer of eco-lightbulbs is mad over Government plans to phase-out incandescent bulbs.
Hugh Green: Contractor turns oil and gas hunter
12 Dec 2008
Little-known outside the contracting business in which he made his fortune, Irish-born Hugh Green has quietly become New Zealand’s pre-eminent independent oil and gas explorer.
Government does not support any form of mandatory bio fuel obligation
12 Dec 2008
Energy and Resources Minister Gerry Brownlee yesterday tabled in Parliament a Bill to repeal the obligation placed on oil companies to sell a certain proportion of biofuel.
Westport coal export scheme could save port
5 Dec 2008
L&M Coal’s export scheme mooted for an area just northeast of Westport shows signs of revitalising the town's port, which has been hit by the rail freight alternative to ship through Lyttelton.
Aquaflow woos big international players
2 Dec 2008
New Zealand’s biofuel-from-algae pioneer is talking to two major international corporations about investment.
Entries open for energy awards
2 Dec 2008
Entries for this year's the EECA Awards 2009 are now open.
Energy-saving scheme targets old industrial motors
25 Nov 2008
An Electricity Commission scheme to replace old motors with energy-efficient ones in a bid to save 20GWh of electricity is about to be expanded to industrial users.
New interest shown in southern oil shale field
25 Nov 2008
A Ministry of Works probe for a cement–extender during the South Island hydro building boom triggered the first concerted drive to exploit the region’s oil shale resources.
Economic Development Minister to open Pike River coal mine
25 Nov 2008
Economic Development Minister Gerry Brownlee will formally open Pike River’s new underground mine on Thursday as coal stockpiles start to grow.
Report deals blow to wind-and-water power backers
21 Nov 2008
A new report to members of the Major Electricity Users’ Group appears to have dashed the hopes of supporters of the idea of infinitely available sustainable energy through wind and water.
NZOG shows way in Canterbury Basin oil search
21 Nov 2008
NZOG’s lead in the Canterbury Basin permit makes it a pathfinder in the drive by New Zealand companies to hold their exploration and production destiny in their own hands.
Worried investors back off renewables sector decisions
18 Nov 2008
Investment decisions in the renewable energy sector are hanging in the balance because of uncertainty over the future of the emissions trading scheme.
Electricity watchdog might be made independent
18 Nov 2008
The incoming National government is considering following the recommendation of the International Energy Agency and placing the Electricity Commission beyond the bounds of politics.
New Zealanders get first chance to buy Aquaflow shares
14 Nov 2008
New Zealand algal biofuel pioneer Aquaflow Bionomic Corporation is going to the market to raise $20m to fund commercialisation of its breakthrough technology, saying it wants New Zealanders to have the first chance to invest.
NZ obstacles scare off major overseas companies
14 Nov 2008
Chronic litigation by New Zealand-based oil exploration and production interests is making the overseas majors reluctant to commit to this country, Carbon News has learnt.
Port Taranaki gas terminal high on Nats' action list
11 Nov 2008
An early energy-planning decision for the incoming National Government will be over Port Taranaki as the New Zealand liquefied natural gas landing terminal, mooted by Genesis Energy and Contact Energy two years ago.
Nat's bedfellows happy to cuddle up with energy policy
7 Nov 2008
National’s energy policy sits well with two of its three likely coalition partners.
Solid Energy chief heads world coal body
7 Nov 2008
Solid Energy chief executive Don Elder has been elected chairman of the World Coal Institute.
Taranaki engineer in move to produce low-cost fuel
4 Nov 2008
New Plymouth's Fitzroy Engineering - the nation’s original oil service heavy engineer - has combined with LanzaTech to implement a process to derive low-cost fuel from carbon monoxide.
Crown Minerals eyes rich gas hydrates deposits
31 Oct 2008
Crown Minerals believes that New Zealand could become a globally significant exploiter of gas hydrates - potentially a rich source of alternate energy.
NZ magnets might play part in Big Bang showcase experiment
31 Oct 2008
New Zealand magnetic technology is likely to be used in the CERN Large Hadron Collider - the device seeking to replicate what happened in the seconds following the creation of the planet.
Contact puts $75 million price tag on carbon commitment
24 Oct 2008
Contact Energy expects its carbon liability to cost it at least $75 million a year.
Nats' research stance worries wind turbine pioneer
24 Oct 2008
A New Zealand wind-energy pioneer says that plans by a National government to cut the research and development tax credit would hamper his company’s plan to provide affordable wind turbines for householders.
National-Maori deal to put geothermal under Minerals Act?
24 Oct 2008
Close to the top of the agenda for a prospective prime minister John Key with any Maori Party allies is the business of transferring the nation’s geothermal resources from the jurisdiction of the Resource Management Act to Crown Minerals.
Biodeisel demand fuels price of wood waste
21 Oct 2008
Solid Energy’s demand for high-grade biomass materials is forcing up prices for sawmill shavings and other prime process residue.
Clean-tech investors need to bring money and skills
17 Oct 2008
New Zealand’s clean-tech energy innovators need investors who can bring business skills as well as money to the table, says the organiser of a recent energy-sector investment forum.
Northland, East Coast basins about to go to tender
17 Oct 2008
The Crown Minerals division of the Ministry of Economic Development is getting ready put its Northland Basin and also East Coast Basin to tender.
'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.
