New Zealand: Energy
ETS certainty vital, says wind energy chief
1 May 2009
Certainty over the emissions trading scheme is vital to encouraging investment in new wind-energy projects, says the Wind Energy Associaton.
Genesis buying credits, but quiet on NZUs deal
24 Apr 2009
New Zealand’s largest thermal electricity generator has made forays into the carbon market – but won’t say if it was the purchaser involved in the first sale of New Zealand Units.
Origin could be player in southern coal gas
24 Apr 2009
L&M’s intensive prospecting for coal seam gas in the coal-bearing areas of Southland indicates that the durable New Zealand independent is standing by to welcome a major league partner – possibly Origin, according to some sources.
Deforestation must stop, says power company
24 Apr 2009
One of New Zealand's largest power companies is urging the Government not to do anything to encourage further deforestation.
King Solomon looking at more than gold
24 Apr 2009
The evocatively named King Solomon Mines is looking hard at boosting activities in New Zealand - and possibly beyond its core gold-mining activities.
NZ could lead in wind energy, says global expert
21 Apr 2009
New Zealand could be a world leader in the wind energy sector, developing and exporting wind turbine technology and expertise, says a visiting international expert.
Hydro dams carry concerns, says Greenpeace
17 Apr 2009
Greenpeace says it does not oppose new hydroelectric dams in principle – but warns that building more hydro schemes will increase New Zealand’s reliance on fossil fuels.
Knock-backs no worry, says wind energy group
17 Apr 2009
The New Zealand Wind Energy Association holds its annual conference early next week against a backdrop of declined applications for new wind farms in the Tararua District and North Canterbury – but the association does not interpret the decisions as the tide turning against wind energy.
Coal-rich southern mine heads for closure
17 Apr 2009
Solid Energy’s Ohai open-cast mine in Southland is still scheduled for closure in spite of holding vast reserves of coal.
Carbon credits sale funds heat-loss spy in the sky
17 Apr 2009
Christchurch’s sale of several million dollars of carbon credits to British Gas three years ago is providing the funds for a scheme to target heat waste miscreants by thermal imaging them.
Drilling crews busy in hunt for Southland gas
14 Apr 2009
Accommodation is booked out in the Ohai and Nightcaps coal mining districts in Southland as L&M’s drilling crews step up prospecting for coal-seam gas in the Mt Linton area.
US bank troubles could leave Transpower exposed
14 Apr 2009
Transpower’s exposure to troubled US bank Wachovia remains shrouded in a tangled skein of hedging devices and counter party vulnerability - the techniques which have brought about the nationalisation of banking in the US and the Britain.
Greens and Nats do deal over home insulation
9 Apr 2009
Subsidised home insulation is back on the agenda, with National agreeing to work on a project with the Greens.
Wairarapa wind farms win consent
9 Apr 2009
Logging’s loss in the northern Wairarapa is wind farming’s gain, with the granting of resource consent for the first of several mobile wind masts to be built east of Eketahuna.
Rainbow Warrior chief here to talk wind power
9 Apr 2009
The man who was leading the Rainbow Warrior anti-nuclear expedition when the ship was bombed in Auckland is returning to New Zealand to promote wind energy.
Commissioners knock back wind farms
7 Apr 2009
Contact Energy says it might appeal over the rejection of its plans for a 65-turbine wind farm southeast of Dannevirke.
Blame transport, not animals, says energy expert
3 Apr 2009
World Bank and World Watch Institute renewables expert Dr Eric Martinot says that inefficient transport, not animals, is New Zealand’s major emissions problem.
Togetherness key to our bioenergy success
3 Apr 2009
Unity is a key point of difference for New Zealand’s bioenergy industry
Meridian tests Kaipara potential for wind power
31 Mar 2009
Meridian Energy is assessing the wind generation potential of a site at Pouto in the Kaipara Harbour.
Wellington eyes hydro plant at Wainuiomata
31 Mar 2009
The Greater Wellington Regional Council is evaluating a scheme to install a hydro-generator plant at its Wainuiomata water treatment plant.
Solid Energy wants action on southern lignite
27 Mar 2009
Solid Energy is keeping close tabs on legislators seeking an excuse to leave Southland’s rich lignite resources untapped.
Blue Mountain finds the BOOT fits
27 Mar 2009
Blue Mountain Lumber is proving that energy investment can be made in isolation from long-term considerations of risk surrounding the original use.
Coal turned to gold for British millionaire
24 Mar 2009
British millionaire Sir Robert Ogden’s ocean going yacht La Masquerade, which has been cruising New Zealand waters in recent weeks, is testimony to the great fortunes that can be made from coal.
Brownlee facts spur power station protesters
20 Mar 2009
Energy statistics for the last quarter of 2008 are being used to add weight to the calls for Genesis Energy to abandon its proposed power station in Kaukapakapa.
Kiwi charcoal system in line for world prize
20 Mar 2009
A New Zealand company’s carbon-capturing innovation is one five finalists in the Financial Times UK’s global Climate Change Challenge.
Wood-pellet industry resents officials’ disinterest
20 Mar 2009
The wood burner industry is annoyed that it continues to receive less-than-enthusiastic support from government sustainable agencies, including EECA.
Time right for mass home insulation, says economist
10 Mar 2009
The time is right for a recession-busting programme of infrastructure development such as mass home insulation, says a leading economist.
Electricity Commission review puts M-co at risk
6 Mar 2009
The anticipated review of the Electricity Commission is being viewed as an opportunity to overhaul the wholesale marketing of electricity in New Zealand.
Don't count on Kaukapakapa thermal plant to solve electricity woes, Genesis tells commission
3 Mar 2009
The Electricity Commission and the Rodney District Council seem to be playing cat-and-mouse over plans to increase electricity supply to Northland and Auckland.
Minister's omission worries wood fuel backers
27 Feb 2009
The bioenergy sector says it is aghast that wood fuel seems to be off the Government’s radar.
Manapouri power problems worry Government
27 Feb 2009
The inflexibility of power from the Manapouri hydro station is causing headaches for the new government.
NZ firms chase slice of Obama's clean-energy billions
24 Feb 2009
New Zealand companies are in the United States in a bid to win a share of the $300 billion the US government is pouring into renewable energies.
Invasive jatropha might have dodged NZ security net
24 Feb 2009
The potentially invasive biofuel crop Jatropha curcas may have slipped through New Zealand’s biosecurity defences.
Costs slow action on fixing Cook Strait cables
24 Feb 2009
Increased borrowing is being blamed for political reticence for what many believe is the nation’s top infrastructure priority – replacing the Cook Strait power cables.
New approach to electricity governance recommended
24 Feb 2009
A review of the electricity sector recommends a new approach to regulation.
Green light for New Zealand’s first Solar City Pilot
24 Feb 2009
Developers of Nelson Solar City have announced the next stage of their project with the launch of a pilot scheme involving 25 homes and businesses.
Smith: DOC needs to be more transparent
24 Feb 2009
The Department of Conservation needs to ensure a greater degree of transparency in agreements reached over resource consents, Acting Conservation Minister Nick Smith says.
Crest gathers support for Kaipara tidal project
20 Feb 2009
Crest Energy has until next Friday to submit expert witness evidence to the Environment Court in support of its plan to build a tidal power project on the Kaipara Harbour.
GNS sees big benefits in geothermal link with Japan
20 Feb 2009
New Zealand's GNS appears to be in the wings in a strategy by Japan to massively boost its geothermal generating capacity.
Mission sparks high-level interest in marine energy
20 Feb 2009
A recent UK mission on renewable energy has prompted the government take another look at New Zealand’s marine energy potential.
Aquaflow confident of getting $20m from investors
17 Feb 2009
Aquaflow, New Zealand’s biofuel-from-algae pioneer, says it is confident it will get the money it wants to commercialise its technology.
Capital fast-tracks tidal turbine trial
17 Feb 2009
The surge in objections to large-scale commercial wind farms has been a factor in the fast-tracking by Wellington Regional Council of a scheme to trial a tidal turbine near the capital.
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”.
Lawyers complain to ombudsman over Govt failure to release LNG modelling
1 Apr 2026
By Liz Kivi | Lawyers for Climate Action has made a formal complaint to the Ombudsman over the Government’s failure to release information about its controversial decision to build a LNG import terminal.
Fonterra admits ‘100% grass-fed’ claim breached law in greenwashing row
2 Apr 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Fonterra has admitted its “100% New Zealand grass-fed” claims on Anchor butter were misleading and breached the law, settling a case brought by Greenpeace Aotearoa over packaging used between December 2023 and April 2025.
Annual emissions fell to lowest in 15 years in Sept 2025
5 Feb 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions fell to their lowest annual total in the year to September 2025 since records began 2010, according to Statistics New Zealand data published this morning.
Free fares call as fuel crisis impacts school attendance
Wed 8 Apr 2026
An open letter is urging the Government to make public transport free for all school children and subsidised for students under 25, as rising fuel costs begin to impact attendance and access to education across the country.
Wellington planting nears one million trees
30 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Greater Wellington’s parks restoration programme will hit one million native trees this year, with the first dams to rewet peat wetlands in Queen Elizabeth Park now completed after a years-long effort to bring these ecosystems – and their carbon sequestering superpowers – back to life.
Businesses look for ways to cut costs in response to oil shock
1 Apr 2026
New Zealand’s small and medium-sized businesses are looking for ways to ease the pressure as global tensions see rising fossil fuel prices and diminishing supply, with decision-makers mulling measures including work-from-home polices and transport or logistics changes.
