New Zealand: Energy
Coal financing evaporates as countries go carbon-free
25 Nov 2020
Financing for coal projects is drying up at ever increasing rates as more countries target zero carbon emissions amid an energy transition sweeping the world, participants at Asia’s biggest gathering of the coal industry said on Tuesday.
Kiwi company uses Bitcoin to buy solar panels
24 Nov 2020
New Zealand’s latest and largest solar farm is being partially funded by cryptocurrency.
EU, UN-led pact commits oil and gas firms to tackle methane emissions
24 Nov 2020
Dozens of oil and gas companies have committed to report more accurately on and, ultimately, reduce emissions of the potent greenhouse gas methane which is liable to leak from oilfields and pipelines.
Green-trolling to bring down Big Oil
20 Nov 2020
Mary Heglar has a “maniacal plan” to save the planet. It doesn’t involve shutting down pipelines or protesting in the streets. Heglar has simply been “trolling the shit out of fossil fuel companies” on social media.
Meridian looking good to carbon-averse Blackrock
12 Nov 2020
Blackrock has increased its stake in Meridian as part of its carbon-divestment strategy.
New fund helps businesses ditch coal and gas
12 Nov 2020
Businesses wanting to stop using coal and gas for heat can tap into a new $70 million fund.
No miracle energy sources to replace fossil fuels, says scientist
10 Nov 2020
Radical decarbonisation in line with the Paris Agreement means getting used to living in a world without abundant supplies of energy, ecologist Dr Mike Joy is warning.
Where should be we use hydrogen?
10 Nov 2020
Is hydrogen the lifeblood of a low-carbon future, or an over-hyped distraction from real solutions?
How 'geothermal anywhere' can cut our emissions
6 Nov 2020
Large-scale geothermal energy has long been constrained to volcanic areas where heat can easily be captured and turned into electricity. Today, breakthroughs in drilling techniques are opening new horizons for the technology, offering the prospect of “geothermal anywhere”.
'Liquid window' harnesses light and heat
6 Nov 2020
Rising demand for cooling and heating in commercial buildings has pushed up their carbon emissions - could temperature-sensitive windows help?
Shell's climate tweet goes badly wrong
4 Nov 2020
A climate poll on Twitter posted by Shell has backfired spectacularly, with the oil company accused of gaslighting the public.
New method to measure fossil-fuel emissions
3 Nov 2020
Millions of stacks and tailpipes in cities around the world send up 70 per cent of the carbon dioxide ejected into the atmosphere by human beings.
You've got cheap data, how about cheap power too?
3 Nov 2020
The iPhone transformed mobile phones in just 10 years. Could green energy see a similar revolution?
Ford and GM knew about climate change - and covered it up
30 Oct 2020
Exxon knew, Shell knew, coal knew — is it any surprise that top auto manufacturers knew, too?
How to boost the hydrogen market
30 Oct 2020
Step by step, hydrogen has worked its way into the heart of the energy transition: as a storage medium for renewable energy; a fuel of the future for ships and planes; and a replacement for fossil fuels in homes, power and industry.
World Bank branch backs coal megaproject
23 Oct 2020
The World Bank’s private lending branch is indirectly backing one of the world’s biggest new coal complexes, despite a new green policy.
We need to solve the dry-year problem, says Carr
20 Oct 2020
Electrification of more of the economy to reduce the country’s greenhouse gas emissions will require a resolution to the risk posed by dry years to the hydro-electricity system, says Climate Change Commission chair Dr Rod Carr.
World makes haste too slowly on cutting energy use
19 Oct 2020
The world is dragging its feet on efforts to tackle the climate crisis by reducing its energy use, according to a global watchdog.
IEA outlines how world can reach net-zero emissions by 2050
14 Oct 2020
For the first time, the International Energy Agency has set out what would need to happen this decade to reach net-zero emissions globally by 2050.
Parker pushes back against pumped-hydro critics
12 Oct 2020
Environment and former climate and energy minister David Parker says he is backing investigations into a pumped-hydro scheme because it has the potential to slash the country’s greenhouse gas emissions.
Lines project first to try covid consent process
9 Oct 2020
A project that could form part of the Government’s pumped-hydro electricity scheme is the first to be considered by an expert panel set up under the Government’s covid-19 fast-tracking consenting process.
Nuclear power hinders fight against climate change
7 Oct 2020
Countries wishing to reduce carbon emissions should invest in renewables, abandoning any plans for nuclear power stations because they can no longer be considered a low-carbon option.
Green hydrogen could be cheap transformative fuel within a decade
6 Oct 2020
Chinese manufacturers have reported making systems to create hydrogen with renewable energy for up to 80 per cent less than official Australian estimates from just two years ago.
Policy could prevent shift to low-emissions tech, says Genesis
1 Oct 2020
The Labour Government’s plan to bring forward its 100 per cent renewable electricity generation target to 2030 is an example of siloed thinking and is likely to be self-defeating, Genesis Energy has told shareholders.
Labour promises $5 million a year more for just transition
29 Sep 2020
Labour is promising to spend more money on getting the country’s workforce ready for the low-carbon economy.
Exxon uses carbon capture to keep oil flowing
29 Sep 2020
Sprawled across the arid expanse of southwestern Wyoming is one of the world's largest carbon capture plants, a hulking jumble of pipes, compressors and exhaust flues operated by ExxonMobil.
Global oil demand may have passed peak, says BP
15 Sep 2020
BP has called time on the world’s rising demand for fossil fuels after finding that demand for oil may have already reached its peak and faces an unprecedented decades-long decline.
Using rocket science to green transport
15 Sep 2020
French energy company Engie is teaming up with aerospace firm the ArianeGroup to steal a march on its rivals in the hydrogen production business, by drawing on expertise gained through Europe’s space programme.
How the pandemic lockdown slashed our greenhouse gas emissions
11 Sep 2020
New Zealand’s first covid-19 pandemic lockdown slashed the country’s consumption of oil to the lowest level since 1998, taking emissions of greenhouse gases from fuels to their lowest point in more than two decades.
Gas exploration won't be rushed, Beach tells EPA
9 Sep 2020
Any gas discovery by Beach Energy off the North Otago coast next year could require a further two years’ work to plan and prepare an appraisal drilling programme to determine how to develop it, the Environmental Protection Authority heard yesterday.
Green hydrogen breakthrough uses sun and water from the air
9 Sep 2020
Researchers have found a way to combine solar PV and water harvested from the air to produce low-cost green hydrogen, and are gearing up to put the zero-emissions fuel to the test in cars on Sydney roads.
New solar and lighting technologies could trigger an energy revolution
7 Sep 2020
Halide perovskites could revolutionise the energy sector.
Govt report sees frontline job in biocrude for Marsden
2 Sep 2020
The Marsden Point oil refinery could be used to catapault New Zealand into the age of making low-carbon crude from forest waste.
Only 10% of power companies putting renewables ahead of fossil-fuels
1 Sep 2020
Only one in 10 of the world’s electric utility companies are prioritising investment in clean renewable energy over growing their capacity of fossil fuel power plants, according to research from the University of Oxford.
Major investment firm dumps Exxon, Chevron and Rio Tinto
25 Aug 2020
A Nordic hedge fund worth more than $US90 billion (£68.6 billion) has dumped its stocks in some of the world’s biggest oil companies and miners responsible for lobbying against climate action.
Energy-and-transport plan key to emissions cuts
21 Aug 2020
Business is calling for integrated transport and energy planning to speed the country’s decarbonisation, saying increasing carbon prices can't do the job alone.
ConocoPhillips trying to freeze permafrost to drill more oil
20 Aug 2020
Melting permafrost is stymying ConocoPhillips' plans to drill 590 million barrels of oil from a reserve in Alaska, so it's trying to refreeze the ground.
Australian hydrogen company launches IPO
20 Aug 2020
Green hydrogen company Infinite Blue Energy is looking for $A2 million in investment before launching on the Australian stock exchange.
Global offshore wind industry takes huge strides
14 Aug 2020
Despite covid-19’s grim effects on many industries, the orders for the global offshore wind industry have increased dramatically in the first half of 2020, totalling $US35 billion, up 319 per cent on last year.
Nanotech turns bricks into batteries
13 Aug 2020
The humble house brick has been turned into a battery that can store electricity, raising the possibility that buildings could one day become literal powerhouses
South Africa tightens restrictions for new coal power in landmark ruling
10 Aug 2020
South Africa is tightening environmental demands for new coal-fired power plants, after a ‘landmark’ ruling that licences for water use should consider the risks of climate change.
Is this the end for King Coal in Britain?
10 Aug 2020
As the black stuff burnt in the United Kingdom plummets to a level not seen since the early steam age, The Guardian traces its long, deep history and the problems left in its wake.
India plans to fell ancient forest to create 40 new coalfields
10 Aug 2020
Narendra Modi’s dream of a "self-reliant India" comes at a terrible price for its indigenous population
BP cuts oil production in favour of green energy
7 Aug 2020
BP is taking its business in a new direction, announcing it will slash its oil and gas production by 40 per cent and increase its annual investment in low-carbon technology to $5 billion, a 10-fold increase over its current level.
Business risk and covid-19 are pushing Asian financiers away from coal
7 Aug 2020
The use of coal as an energy source is steadily declining in the US and Europe, but coal mining and the construction of coal-fired power plants continues across South and Southeast Asia.
Europe is going all-in on hydrogen power - why isn’t the US?
7 Aug 2020
Once upon a time, hydrogen was supposed to be the future of energy. The possibilities for hydrogen power seemed endless: it could fuel our cars, heat our homes, and even power our airplanes. But 175 years after the creation of the first “gas battery,” the technology has yet to reach its full potential.
Wood cheaper than electricity for emissions cuts, says Fonterra
5 Aug 2020
Fonterra favours wood over electricity for reducing emissions from its South Island plants.
Downstream turns on the power
4 Aug 2020
Pumped-hydro, a "blind" focus on renewable electricity instead of cutting emissions from all energy systems, and the closure of the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter are all on the agenda at this year's Downstream Conference. GAVIN EVANS of Businessdesk is there.
Big Oil takes big hit from covid-19
4 Aug 2020
The world's leading oil and gas giants are revealing the scale of the damage inflicted on the industry by the coronavirus pandemic, with top American companies reporting billions in losses while some European companies were able to eke out small profits.
More coal power-generation closed than opened last year
4 Aug 2020
The size of the global coal power fleet fell for the first time on record over the first six months of the year, with more generation capacity shutting than starting operation.
Legal experts sue Climate minister over ‘glaring holes’ in climate plan
Wed 11 Jun 2025
By Liz Kivi | Legal experts are taking the government to court over its Emissions Reduction Plan, alleging it fails to fulfil basic requirements of the law – with one of the arguments focussing on an over-reliance on tree-planting.
Flurry of govt announcements at Fieldays
Thu 12 Jun 2025
The government has come up with a solar energy package for farms, a new grass-fed certification scheme for meat and dairy, and a supplier agreement for carpets in new state homes - all part of the annual flurry of politicians’ Fieldays announcements.
Tech alone won’t save us, warns climate expert
4 Jun 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Technology alone won't be enough to reach net zero emissions, environmental psychologist Lorraine Whitmarsh told the Carbon and Energy Professionals conference in Auckland last week.
“It’s not the car – it’s how we move” – EECA
3 Jun 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams| New Zealand’s transport emissions conversation has focused heavily on electric vehicles – but Richard Briggs, group manager, delivery and partnerships at the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority, says we’re asking the wrong question.
Forestry consents and relaxed rules in erosion zones sow seeds of future disaster
Fri 13 Jun 2025
OPINION: The government’s move to restrict exotic forestry on our best food-growing soils will push even more forestry investment onto high erosion risk land on the East Coast, with the worst land becoming the only land left for the most intensive and destructive land use, writes Manu Caddie
Kiwi cleantech companies on the world stage
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.
