Oil shock tests Government’s balancing act
Today 11:00am
The Government is trying to show it is on top of fuel security risk without giving the impression New Zealand is heading for a shortage.
Story copyright © Carbon News 2026
Mayor stands by comments over AI factory cable
Today 11:00am
By Matthew Rosenberg, Local Democracy Reporter | Invercargill mayor Tom Campbell is standing by his view that a new cable for a large AI data factory will not impact the environment at Ōreti Beach, despite a report saying otherwise.
'Power-hungry' AI data centre could push up electricity prices
Mon 16 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | A proposed AI-focused data centre in Southland could become New Zealand’s second-largest electricity user, raising concerns it may drive up power prices and complicate efforts to decarbonise the national grid.
Renewables surge cuts power emissions, but oil dominates fossil fuel use
Fri 13 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand’s fossil fuel emissions fell in 2025 as strong renewable electricity generation reduced the need for gas-fired power, but oil consumption is rising and now accounts for a record share of fossil emissions.
Todd gets nod to drill first super-critical geothermal well
Thu 12 Mar 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | Todd Energy is to make its sole oil drilling rig available to drill the first exploration well under the government’s $60 million super-critical geothermal resource exploration programme under a ‘preferred supplier’ agreement announced yesterday.
Japan eyes New Zealand as green hydrogen export hub
Thu 12 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | A new partnership between major Japanese companies aims to explore exporting green hydrogen from New Zealand – but the economics of producing the energy-hungry fuel remain the biggest hurdle.
Methanex: a gauge of NZ’s gas decline
Thu 12 Mar 2026
Methanex’s latest earnings call offered a blunt reminder that the company’s shrinking New Zealand business is now less a stand-alone corporate story than a barometer of the country’s broader gas decline.
Upton on LNG: don’t make electricity consumers subsidise industrial gas
Wed 11 Mar 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | Industrial gas users will be subsidised by electricity consumers unless they are also charged for access to the proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) import facility, the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, Simon Upton, says.
If the government is set on an LNG terminal, gas users, not electricity users, should pay
Wed 11 Mar 2026
By Christina Hood | COMMENT: It's increasingly clear that the government's narrative of LNG as ‘dry year electricity insurance’ really doesn't stack up.
Hormuz crisis critical to New Zealand
10 Mar 2026
By Nathan Surendran | COMMENT: Why the Hormuz crisis is a symptom, not the disease – and what it means for New Zealand.
