The newly-formed Smart Energy Alliance NZ was initiated by the Sustainable Energy Association (SEANZ) and includes Master Electricians, Sustainable Business Network, Consumer NZ, Rewiring Aotearoa, Bioenergy Association and the NZ Green Building Council.

The group is warning that LNG import infrastructure will lock the country into higher costs, imported fuel risk, and outdated energy thinking and wants the Government to delay committing to LNG until a full system-wide assessment of alternatives is completed.

Gareth Williams, SEANZ chief operating officer, says the alliance’s proposal offers a coordinated “lower-cost, lower-risk” pathway built around accelerated renewables, battery storage, demand flexibility, energy efficiency, electrification, biofuels and smarter hydro management.

“New Zealand has a world-leading advantage around renewable energy and a once-in-a-generation opportunity to build an energy system that is cleaner, cheaper, more resilient, and more sovereign,” he says.

“The real risk is locking ourselves into imported fossil fuel infrastructure just as renewable technologies, storage, and smart demand solutions are becoming the most effective way to strengthen energy security.”

The alliance says dry-year challenges should be addressed as part of a broader national energy strategy, rather than through a single, high-cost infrastructure decision.

The proposal calls for:

● a cross-party national energy strategy

● accelerated deployment of solar, batteries, geothermal, wind and biofuels

● stronger energy efficiency measures such as hot water heat pumps

● new financial incentives and low-cost financing pathways

● improved market signals for hydro storage management and demand flexibility

● fast-tracking projects that can deliver step-change improvements

● support to accelerate gas users to renewable energy, saving domestic gas for hard to switch uses.

The alliance wants New Zealand to take a portfolio approach combining renewable generation, storage, efficiency, flexibility and selective transitional fuels, which it says can deliver greater energy security at materially lower cost and risk than LNG.

“We don’t believe that the government’s proposal for a LNG terminal is good for consumers. It’s likely to push power prices higher and make life even harder for people who are already struggling to pay the power bill,” says Consumer NZ’s Chief Executive, Jon Duffy.

“The LNG dry-year solution is attempting to address a local risk by swapping it with an international risk and, as we can see right now, it is clearly very risky to be relying on imported fuels to keep the lights on economically,” says Rewiring Aotearoa CEO Mike Casey.

“The Government needs to be thinking strategically about how we address dry year risk and reduce energy bills for customers. There are clearly cheaper, cleaner and more reliable alternatives to address this challenge.”

Casey says gas-dependent homes with solar, batteries and space and water heat pumps could save $2,000 a year on their bills, including loan repayments.

“More rooftop solar won’t solve the problem on its own, but it needs to be part of the solution, alongside other measures like faster roll out of large-scale renewables, help for gas users to switch to electricity and better use of our hydro assets.”

The alliance is also welcoming interest from aligned organisations that “want to help shape a smarter, more secure energy future for Aotearoa”.