New Zealand: Energy
Crest Energy upbeat at close of Kaipara tidal energy consent hearings
4 Jun 2008
Crest Energy is upbeat in the wake of week-long planning hearings for their tidal energy project in the Kaipara Harbour.
Neptune’s non-notified consent a victory for innovation over caution
4 Jun 2008
Greater Wellington resource consent processing officer Raymond Chang has told Carbon News that the council’s decision not to notify Neptune Power’s resource consent application for their tidal energy project in Cook Strait was made so as not to “sink the boat” financially before the project had going.
Transpower looks at possible new central North Island grid links for renewables
4 Jun 2008
Transpower has released its documentation for consultation on two investigation projects to facilitate the connection of renewable generation to the National Grid.
Overwhelming support for wind energy
4 Jun 2008
New research shows that New Zealanders overwhelming favour renewable energy for electricity generation.
ECCA figures on Kiwis and renewables
4 Jun 2008
75% of New Zealanders support marine energy as a future electricity generation option, according to research released by the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA).
Pike River tunnel reaches Hawera fault
4 Jun 2008
Pike River Coal Limited (Pike River) says the tunnel being driven to access the premium quality hard coking coal deposit has now reached the Hawera fault zone.
NZ solar efforts look small compared with EU's strong sector growth
3 Jun 2008
CARBON NEWS SPECIAL FEATURE. - While little appears to be happening in New Zealand, the use of solar energy, one of the most accessible and affordable sources of renewable energy available is growing steadily in Europe.
Brazillian ambassdor snaps back on rain forest-for-fuel claims
3 Jun 2008
The Brazilian Ambassador to New Zealand Manoel Gomes-Pereira, tired of his country being used as a piñata in the rainforests debate, has taken the unusual step for a diplomat of making a spirited public defence of Brazil’s biofuels strategy.
Red Stag co-generation plant puts $1m a year on bottomline
3 Jun 2008
Red Stag Timber of Rotorua, operator of the Waipa Sawmill, has emerged as the poster child of the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority’s campaign to use renewable energy from wood fuel.
US study: US$35 per ton carbon price will cut emissions 10%
3 Jun 2008
A new analysis by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business shows possible positive short-term effects of establishing a mandatory price for CO2 emissions inthe United States.
US wineries go for 100% solar power, lightweight bottles
3 Jun 2008
Elbin Blatz, a winery in California’s Napa Valley region, has installed a first-of-its-kind solar power array and the latest example of how Northern California’s wine industry is using solar power.
Public investment in major clear coal plant project at risk
3 Jun 2008
The public fnding plug is about to be pulled on a U$1. billion cler claol energy project in the Unired States.
Marine energy on a roll - offshore investors lining up
30 May 2008
New Zealand’s marine energy industry has been kick-started, with the Government coming in strongly behind it and international companies lining up to invest.
New Zealand's largest gas field completed
30 May 2008
The Pohokura offshore gas field development in Taranaki has been completed.
Why Parker is enthisiastic about marine energy
30 May 2008
Average wave power can exceed 100 kilowatts per metre of wave crest length, on the southwest-facing coasts of New Zealand.
Govt funding for Kaipara harbour tidal energy devices
30 May 2008
A project to generate electricity from the tides in Kaipara Harbour is to receive a grant of $1.85 million from the Marine Energy Deployment Fund.
Meridian fights local body troika's backdoor bid to ban windfarms
29 May 2008
Meridian Energy Ltd has launched an appeal against what it sees as a crimp on renewable energy zoning by the Masterton, Carterton, and South Wairarapa District Councils.
New petrol price impact research under way
29 May 2008
New Government research is under way on the impact of higher petrol prices on vehicle use
Recipients of millions in marine energy grants announced today
29 May 2008
Who gets the first Government grants to encourage marine energy development will be announced today.
Contact cranks part of New Plymouth plant back to life
29 May 2008
Contact Energy has announced that it will recommission part of its New Plymouth power station in response to anticipated winter electricity supply worries.
Windflow falls victim to noise issue
28 May 2008
Windflow Technology of Christchurch is the pre-eminent alternate energy production engineer in New Zealand. Yet its power generation wind turbines are being rejected on the environmental grounds that they make too much noise.
Two news wells for Taranaki's Cheal oil field
28 May 2008
Austral Pacific Energy will drill two new wells (A6 and A7) in its onshore Taranaki Cheal oil field in Stratford, New Zealand.
Electricity bosses given new policy orders
28 May 2008
The Government has issued new policy instructions to the Electricity Commission.
Update on proposed national grid regulations
28 May 2008
Two proposed national environmental standards aimed at improving the management and security of the national grid will be reconsidered and reworked.
$100m smart meter policy ushers in future appliance remote control
28 May 2008
Meridian Energy has announced progress with its $100 million smart meter programme.
Solar hot-water payback too slow
27 May 2008
New Zealanders are resisting switching to solar hot-water heating despite government grants because the payback period is too long -up to 15 years for some households.
Continued tax incentives for renewables expected to boost growth 20%
26 May 2008
The US Senate has passed a bil extending tax credits- and authorizing US$2 billion in new bonds to boost renewable energy development.
Financiers: Is Kyoto factored into Contact Energy?
23 May 2008
Representatives of several international financial services organisations with operations in New Zealand believe that the value of the climate change regime has not been factored into the value of Contact Energy.
Greens get warm, energy-efficient houses in Budget win
23 May 2008
Almost $100 million has been secured in the Budget by the Green Party fore measures which includ increasing the energy-efficiency of New Zealand homes, making it the party’s largest-ever Budget package.
Keep your hat on Mam: Queen invests in biggest wind turbine
23 May 2008
The Queen is investing is the world's biggest wind turbine.
BP: We've slashed emissions 24% below 2003 levels
23 May 2008
BP says it has cut its GHG emissions 24% below their 2003 level.
Govt's moratorium won't affect electricity supply - Caygill
22 May 2008
A moratorium on new thermal power plants is unlikely to affect security of supply, says the Electricity Commission.
Delaying the ETS risks electricity security , delays to win energy investment
22 May 2008
Delaying the Emissions Trading Scheme risks discouraging investment in new electricity generation, says Gerry Coates, Chair of the New Zealand Wind Energy Association.
Brownlee - thermal generation shows need for power saving campaign
22 May 2008
National Party Energy spokesman Gerry Brownlee says Energy Minister David Parker should be thinking seriously about ordering a public power saving campaign for winter.
Electricity market: Prices continue to rise
20 May 2008
Electricity prices continued to rise last week.
Canadian with Kiwi connections to take over Genesis
19 May 2008
Canadian New Zealander Albert Brantley is to be the new boss of Genesis Energy, operator of the Huntly power station and New Zealand’s largest electricity retailer.
NZ energy-miser motor could lead the world
16 May 2008
A revolutionary New Zealand-designed electric motor with the potential to save huge amounts of energy and carbon has won $1.75 million of government research funding.
Gas from our coal could provide energy for 1600 years
16 May 2008
A report by New Zealand’s former technical supremo on coal, Peter Toynbee, indicates that New Zealand is in a powerful position in regard to coal-generated energy.
Heavy-emitters should buy now, says carbon trader
6 May 2008
New Zealand’s top 200 greenhouse-gas heavy emitters should be buying carbon credits now to protect against likely price rises as the emission trading scheme starts to kick in, says a leading leading carbon trader.
Crest Energy ready to power up the Kaipara
2 May 2008
Crest Energy plans to construct a marine turbine power generation plant in the Kaipara Harbour. The scheme will encompass around 200 completely submerged marine tidal turbines near the entrance to the harbour.
Lines companies can’t duck thermal ban - Parker
30 Apr 2008
Lines companies will not be able to buck the Government’s ban on new thermal power generation despite the Electricity Industry Reform Amendment Bill (EIRA) seeming to give them that option, Climate Change Minister David Parker has told Carbon News.
Hutt hi-tech could ground overhead pylons fears
30 Apr 2008
Super-conducting technologies developed in the Hutt Valley could sidestep popular fears about overhead pylon transmission.
Wholesale electricity prices fall on last month
29 Apr 2008
Wholesale electricity prices were last week down compared with a month ago.
New report: Power utilities could make efficiency impovements of up to 11%
29 Apr 2008
Energy efficiency improvements in the U.S. electric power sector could reduce electricity consumption by 7 to 11 percent more than currently projected over the next two decades.
OptiSolar applies to build world's biggest (16 sq km) solar farm
29 Apr 2008
Solar energy specialist OptiSolar (http://www.optisolar.com/) has revealed plans to build the world's largest solar farm at a site in California stretching over nearly ten square miles (16 sq km).
Woodhouse ready for commercialised carbon trade-off
28 Apr 2008
Low-key investor Seeby Woodhouse indicated at several closed-door discussions in Wellington and Auckland last week that he would step into carbon trading as a kind of one-man carbon exchange and clearing house.
NZ companies join UN emissions project
28 Apr 2008
An Auckland-based public relations firm and a Wellington management consultancy have joined a prestigious United Nations programme to slash climate emissions.
The big business question: How do we do it?
28 Apr 2008
New Zealand businesses might know that they need to do something about their environmental performance but most are struggling to know what, says a leading management consultant.
We're five times greener than the Aussies
28 Apr 2008
New Zealand businesses are almost five times "greener" than their Australian counterparts, with a new white paper finding more than half of Australian businesses have no policy to reduce energy use.
Ashburton councillor opposes climate strategy he voted for
Wed 17 Sep 2025
Jonathan Leask, Local Democracy Reporter | Incumbent Ashburton councillor Phill Hooper says he doesn’t want to waste money on a climate change strategy, despite voting for the policy a few weeks ago.
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
Vector hits emissions reduction goal five years early
5 Sep 2025
By Liz Kivi | Auckland lines company Vector has met its 2030 emissions reduction reduction target five years early, more than halving its direct emissions, and crediting innovation and a laser-focus for its success in a hard-to-abate sector.
NZ needs to be part of a regional SAF strategy: Z, Air NZ
9 Sep 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | New Zealand needs to be part of a regional strategic approach to sourcing sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), with domestic production less the aim than ensuring access to the fuel from one of a number of strategically positioned bio-refineries around the world.
Indigenous forest 'islands' could help transition exotic plantations to native bush
11 Sep 2025
Native forest 'islands' within exotic plantations might be the key to transitioning plantations from exotic to Indigenous, according to new research.
'Non-negotiable' – EU carbon pricing to hit Kiwi exporters, expert warns
11 Sep 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | High carbon exports will inevitably face a high carbon tax at the EU border, possibly in the next five years, and high methane agricultural products might not be exempt, an international expert told a local audience yesterday.
