Topics tagged with 'Energy'
Power between the tracks
31 Oct 2023
The gap between New Zealand’s more than 4000 kilometres of rail tracks could one day be home to solar panels generating up to 0.78 terawatt hours of electricity or 3% of the electricity produced by hydropower last year.
Energy companies team up on windfarm ventures
27 Oct 2023
Manawa Energy is teaming up with Pioneer Energy on plans for a new 300 MW wind farm in South Otago, expected to cost $750m to $900m. And Meridian Energy and NZ Windfarms have agreed to a 50-50 joint venture to repower and extend the Te Rere Hau wind farm in Tararua.
Profitability of status quo standing in the way of renewable energy transition
27 Oct 2023
Lack of political leadership and an industry that profits from the status quo are standing in the way of the transition to renewable electricity, according to Octopus Energy chief operating officer Margaret Cooney.
Best by the rest...
27 Oct 2023
In our weekly round-up of the best climate coverage in local media: Is a $90m project to cool cow burps working? an East Coast leader argues that indigenous reforestation is a Treaty right; and MetService defends its inability to forecast the extreme rainfall that led to Auckland’s deadly floods.
Demand growth and batteries surge
26 Oct 2023
A significant pipeline of new customer load connections is likely to boost electricity demand following flat demand growth in recent years, according to a new report from Transpower.
Fossil fuels drag down Genesis Energy share price
24 Oct 2023
Genesis Energy told shareholders that its involvement with fossil fuels was a drag on its share price, but the market was slowly realising the role gas had in backing up renewable electricity for a long time to come.
Battle lines drawn over future of fossil fuel exploration
20 Oct 2023
On one side, the oil and gas industry maintains - counter-intuitively - that to continue to electrify transport we need new gas and oil wells. On the other, Greenpeace and the wider environmental movement say that starting oil and gas exploration in a climate crisis is a crime against life on Earth.
EMS accredited to issue International Renewable Energy Certificates
20 Oct 2023
Transpower company Energy Market Services (EMS) has been accredited to issue International Renewable Energy Certificates (I-REC) for electricity produced in New Zealand.
PPA market needed to accelerate decarbonisation - Transpower
19 Oct 2023
Power Purchase Agreements between corporate energy users and renewable energy developers should enable investment in lower cost renewable electricity generation and drive faster electrification, according to Transpower.
MBIE proposes energy and emissions reporting scheme
18 Oct 2023
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment is proposing that stationary energy users with annual emissions of 2000 tonnes of CO2 or more be required to report on their energy use.
Sustainable Business Network calls on incoming govt to step up
18 Oct 2023
The Sustainable Business Network is calling on the incoming Government to keep up action on sustainability.
Meridian looks at offshore wind - warns about ETS
17 Oct 2023
Meridian Energy has signed a memorandum of understanding with European-based Parkwind to explore offshore potential focused principally on the Taranaki coast and is still optimistic about getting its hydrogen project over the line.
National's offshore wind policy
16 Oct 2023
National has pledged to introduce an offshore wind regime that largely builds on work underway in the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, but with a few nuances.
Generators worry about thermal transition
11 Oct 2023
A number of major generators have taken issue with the Electricity Authority’s view that the risks around the thermal generation transition and managing dry years are low.
World’s electricity supply close to ‘peak emissions’ due to growth of wind and solar
6 Oct 2023
Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from the global power sector grew just 0.2% in the first six months of 2023, with rapidly rising wind and solar outpacing sluggish demand growth.
Sweden’s ‘off the rails’ climate policy
3 Oct 2023
A government beholden to the radical right is a warning that the green transition can go into reverse.
E-scooters get another five years of regulation exemption
2 Oct 2023
Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency has extended the legal exemption for e-scooters as they say their contribution to the transport system outweighs the complaints about them.
Climate action could boost Auckland economy by $22 billion by 2050
29 Sep 2023
Decisive climate action could deliver $22 billion to Auckland’s regional economy by 2050, while lack of action could cost the region $800 million over the same period.
Crucial for a clean energy economy, the aluminum industry’s carbon footprint is enormous
29 Sep 2023
A new report finds aluminum manufacturing worldwide emits more than a billion tons of carbon dioxide annually, as well as chemicals called perfluorocarbons that warm the planet for 50,000 years.
Shell CEO under pressure from within on renewables shift
29 Sep 2023
Shell's CEO Wael Sawan has come under pressure over his strategy from within the energy company after two employees issued a rare open letter urging him not to scale back investments in renewable energy, sparking an internal debate.
We must change human behaviour to save ourselves - scientists
28 Sep 2023
A group of researchers, led by a Kiwi conservationist, want global recognition of a “Human Behavioural Crisis” as a step towards tackling ecological overshoot and its symptoms - such as climate change.
UK greenlights North Sea oil and gas field amid climate scrutiny
28 Sep 2023
The UK has given the green-light to Rosebank, the country’s biggest untapped oil field, amid increasing scrutiny of the country’s climate credentials.
How carbon capture and storage projects are driving new oil and gas extraction globally
28 Sep 2023
The oil industry’s push to portray carbon capture as a climate solution at COP28 obscures how the technology is really being used.
Cyclone impacts on grid highlights importance of resilience planning
27 Sep 2023
Media release - The Commerce Commission says the impacts on households and business customers from electricity outages following Cyclone Gabrielle highlight the need for a ‘new normal’ in asset management planning and investment strategies.
Labour announces “climate manifesto”
26 Sep 2023
The Labour Party has released a “climate manifesto” promising to set separate targets for gross emissions and carbon removals, develop a voluntary carbon market framework, and limit exotic afforestation, if it wins the election next month.
Kāpiti Council sets up climate change and resilience community ‘think tank’
26 Sep 2023
Media release - Kāpiti Coast District Council is setting up a think tank to help develop a climate change and resilience strategy, and is looking for applicants from the community.
Outgoing EECA boss on energy efficiency policy
25 Sep 2023
Despite the rapid expansion of the Government’s retrofitting housing for energy efficiency, there is still easily five years of work at the current pace to make a serious dent in improving New Zealand’s housing stock, says the outgoing head of the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority Andrew Caseley.
China gives EV sector billions of yuan in subsidies
25 Sep 2023
China's generosity to the electric vehicle sector when it comes to handing out subsidies has come under fresh scrutiny since the European commission announced an investigation into the matter.
Mercury confirms $220m expansion of Ngā Tamariki geothermal station
22 Sep 2023
Media release - Mercury Energy has confirmed a $220 million expansion of its Ngā Tamariki geothermal station, part of its signalled total commitment of up to $1 billion investment in generation expected in the 2024 financial year.
Green investment fund leads $170 million capital raise for solar
21 Sep 2023
New Zealand Green Investment Finance (NZGIF) has led a $170 million capital raise attracting international investors to launch its solar finance programme.
NZ’s climate emissions at historic low
20 Sep 2023
New Zealand is set to announce its lowest emissions this century, Climate Change minister James Shaw told the Climate Change and Business Conference in Auckland yesterday.
Shining a light on the parties’ solar policies
20 Sep 2023
By Jeremy Rose | Labour and the Greens are both promising subsidies for rooftop solar, despite experts - including the Climate Change Commission chair - saying regulatory barriers and grid limitations are the main reasons households and businesses aren't taking advantage of the renewable energy going to waste on their roofs.
Renewable electricity at record high
15 Sep 2023
Renewable electricity generation was at 91% for the June 2023 quarter - up 10% on the previous June.
Upcoming conferences focus on climate change and degrowth
15 Sep 2023
New Zealand's first degrowth conference is coming up this weekend in Wellington, with international and local speakers looking at the transition to a less energy-intensive future.
On-farm solar energy could significantly increase profits for sheep farmers
14 Sep 2023
Media release - Adding solar panels to sheep and beef farms could improve their profitability, and environmental and animal welfare outcomes, finds new research.
Commerce Commission issues 'please explain' to fuel companies over pricing
12 Sep 2023
The Commerce Commission is seeking an explanation from the major fuel companies about anomalies in retail fuel pricing over the first year of monitoring under the new Fuel Industry Act regulatory regime.
G20 countries agree to increase clean energy but no deal on phasing out fossil fuels
12 Sep 2023
Group of 20 leaders have agreed to triple renewable energy and try to increase the funds for climate change-related disasters but maintained the status quo with regards to phasing out carbon spewing coal.
Netherlands police use water cannon, detain 2,400 climate activists
12 Sep 2023
Police deployed water cannons to disperse thousands of climate activists protesting on a highway in the Netherlands to demand an end to government subsidies for the fossil fuel industry.
The world’s largest low-carbon steel plant moves closer to completion
12 Sep 2023
A new $1.6 billion investment puts a hydrogen-fueled plant on track to open in Sweden in 2025, in what would be a first for the hard-to-decarbonise industry.
NZ needs new approach in the face of global inaction on climate
11 Sep 2023
New Zealand needs to work harder at building resilience and adaptation in the face of global failure to meet climate goals, according to an expert.
Ara Ake to administer new $20 million distributed flexibility innovation fund
11 Sep 2023
Media release - Ara Ake, Aotearoa New Zealand's Future Energy Centre, will help run and administer the government’s new Distributed Flexibility Innovation Fund to support the electricity system to manage demand.
NZ must improve how it puts together plans for emissions reductions: Environment Commissioner
8 Sep 2023
Make it coherent and have the Prime Minister take the lead: Those are two pieces of advice the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment wants the incoming government to take to heart when formulating plans to cut emissions.
Channel Infrastructure’s profit increases, looks to a future in jet fuel
8 Sep 2023
Channel Infrastructure reported increased profit and forecast higher dividends as it released its results for the six months ended 30 June 2023.
India steps up coal use amid unusually dry weather
7 Sep 2023
India stepped up the use of coal to generate electricity in a bid to stop outages caused by lower hydroelectricity output, and as renewables struggle to keep pace with record power demand.
NZ Oil and Gas reports higher production
5 Sep 2023
New Zealand Oil & Gas reported a $19.1 million net profit after tax for the year to June 30, down from the previous year’s $25.7m, reflecting spending associated with increasing oil and gas production.
IMF warns NZ at risk of failing international emissions obligations
29 Aug 2023
The International Monetary Fund says New Zealand must do more to meet its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) for 2030, and is off track to meet its international obligations.
Govt cuts more than $200 million from climate funds to “tighten belts”
29 Aug 2023
The government is slashing funding to climate emissions reduction programmes as part of “belt tightening” measures, with more than $235 million in cuts to projects planned to reduce emissions.
Green Party announces climate adaptation fund
28 Aug 2023
The Green Party has announced a $750 million fund for councils to put in place nature-based solutions, aiming to cut emissions and protect communities from climate change impacts.
Solar promises slowly rise
28 Aug 2023
After much talk and numerous announcements and re-announcements, it appears some grid-scale solar farms are finally nearing completion and others crawling closer to starting.
Bird of the Century? We have a suggestion
28 Aug 2023
With aviation emissions ramping up post-Covid, two climate policy experts are nominating a new species as "Bird of the Century": the jet aircraft.
Ticking time-bomb in Govt’s failure of leadership on climate – Carr
Today 11:15am
By Liz Kivi | The coalition Government’s failure to slash emissions is like pulling the pin on a grenade, handing it to a kid, and saying “hold on tight, she’ll be right”, says former Climate Change Commission chair Rod Carr.
Trans-Tasman ministers push climate cooperation amid NZ retreat from climate commitments
Mon 8 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Last week's 2+2 Climate and Finance Ministers’ Dialogue in Auckland urged deeper trans-Tasman climate cooperation, despite New Zealand’s recent moves to weaken climate policies.
NZ’s government wants tourism to drive economic growth – but how will it deal with aviation emissions?
22 Oct 2025
By Robert McLachlan, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa – Massey University | Following a brief dip during the COVID pandemic, aviation is back in a growth phase.
Air NZ inks deal for its first internationally verified carbon credits
9 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi | Air New Zealand has committed to buying 8000 tonnes of carbon removals by 2030, in partnership with local native forest investment platform My Native Forest.
Second fire tears through Tongariro National Park
Today 11:15am
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Fire crews have returned to Tongariro National Park this morning as a fast-moving fire that started yesterday threatens unburnt vegetation and nearby communities, just a month after a major blaze scorched 3000 hectares in the same area.
Govt launches strategy backing wood-based heat sector
23 Oct 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Forestry biomass could replace as much as 40% of fossil fuel-generated process heat by 2050, but access to supply, regulatory settings and business cases for converting to wood-based heat sources are required, the Government says in a series of documents released yesterday.
Carbon market conduct pioneer passes on the baton
Mon 8 Dec 2025
Media release | The International Carbon Reduction and Offsetting Alliance (ICROA), a pioneer in early voluntary carbon market conduct, has announced that it will wind down operations by late 2026.
Seven EU countries pressure European Commission to rethink 2035 diesel and petrol car ban
Today 11:15am
Pressure from EU countries, lawmakers and the automotive industry is likely pushing the European Commission to delay the revision of the bloc's ban on diesel and petrol cars by 2035.
Carbon auction tipped to be a non-event
2 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | Tomorrow’s Emissions Trading Scheme auction is all but certain to fail, with participants blaming the government for destroying confidence as NZUs continue to change hands on the secondary market at a 40% discount on the $68 auction floor.
KiwiRail pauses coal trains amid rising climate protests
Today 11:15am
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Climate activists are ramping up actions this week, with a Christchurch protest leading to KiwiRail pausing some coal train operations on Saturday, and another protest against the Fast-Track Amendment Bill planned for parliament today.
Investors must support positive climate-tech
28 Nov 2025
OPINION: We need better leadership than the current ‘climate opportunism’ that is rife in the Beehive, and we need to back a marketplace that will make it happen, writes Rob Campbell.
$235 billion worth of NZ buildings exposed to flooding
30 Oct 2025
More than 750,000 New Zealanders live in locations exposed to one-in-100-year floods, according to a nationwide study which shows escalating flood risk.
Al Gore's case for optimism
Mon 8 Dec 2025
This year’s United Nations climate summit in Belém, Brazil had everything: A literal flood, a literal fire, a record-breaking 1,600+ fossil fuel lobbyists, and delegates from oil-producing nations working overtime.
Govt ‘scaremongering’ over co-operation – former climate ambassador
Fri 5 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | New Zealand’s former top climate diplomat, Kay Harrison, says the Government’s recent comments ruling out buying climate mitigation offshore amount to scaremongering, and the country is missing a chance to give our businesses a boost.
DOC trims costs and winds down jobs for nature
10 Nov 2025
The Department of Conservation (DOC) is entering a new phase of tighter budgets and structural change as it winds down the pandemic-era Jobs for Nature programme and reshapes its operations to absorb long-term cost pressures.
Politicians in South-East Asia ignore climate change at their own political peril
Today 11:15am
Anger and frustration are growing in devastated communities, as governments botch their response to the climate crisis.
NZ marine heatwaves could double in intensity under high-emissions pathway
16 Oct 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New projections show marine heatwaves will grow more intense around the North Island and more frequent around the South Island as the climate warms – raising risks for fisheries, aquaculture, coastal ecosystems and tourism.
Uncertainty eroding confidence in forestry sector
Fri 5 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Warnings are mounting that tree planting is set to plunge to “very close to zero”, as new Ministry for Primary Industries data shows ETS registration applications falling sharply as confidence in forestry declines.
Media round-up
Fri 5 Dec 2025
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: Labour’s chronic evasiveness as the Government reneges on climate change; newly released documents reveal the country's new methane target is associated with 'perilous' 2.7C of warming; and New Zealand's 'pitiful' decision on emissions targets comes with costs.
RMA to speed up fossil fuel consents
18 Aug 2025
By Liz Kivi | An energy lobby group has welcomed a last-minute amendment to the RMA that puts fossil fuels on the same footing as renewables, however a sustainable energy expert says the move “beggars belief.”
Analysis: Why COP30’s ‘tripling adaptation finance’ target is less ambitious than it seems
Fri 5 Dec 2025
One of the headline outcomes to emerge from COP30 was a new target to “at least triple” finance for climate adaptation in developing countries by 2035.
Climate comments ‘outrageous’ – former top climate negotiator
Wed 3 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | New Zealand’s former climate ambassador, Kay Harrison, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis’ recent statements that the Government had ruled out buying offshore climate mitigation are “outrageous”.
TotalEnergies loses in Paris court, marking a turning point for fossil fuel truth-in-advertising
5 Nov 2025
TotalEnergies was found to have misled consumers about its role in the energy transition.
Tribunal warns govt geothermal strategy risks Treaty breach
2 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The government's geothermal development strategy risks breaching the Treaty of Waitangi, according to a report from the Waitangi Tribunal released last week.
Hiringa eyes green methanol plant near Whanganui
29 Jul 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Green hydrogen pioneer Hiringa Energy is deep in planning to develop an “eight-to-nine figure” methanol plant near Whanganui, using a combination of biomass and hydrogen produced using renewable energy.
Insurers welcome govt decision to keep NHC levy unchanged
21 Nov 2025
Media release |The Insurance Council of New Zealand | Te Kāhui Inihua o Aotearoa (ICNZ) has welcomed the Government’s decision to leave the Natural Hazards Commission levy unchanged, amid ongoing concerns around the cost-of-living.
Why I’m not outraged at the Govt’s latest climate backsliding
7 Nov 2025
COMMENT: The Government’s latest climate rollbacks underline New Zealand’s long history of a lack of genuine desire to cut emissions, writes Geoff Bertram.
NZ’s rejection of emission targets fuels risk of international law breach
Mon 8 Dec 2025
By Karen Scott, Professor in Law, University of Canterbury | The New Zealand government’s decision this week to reject all of the Climate Change Commission’s emission target recommendations was just the latest in a string of policy statements that weaken the country’s action on climate.
NZ fails to back ‘roadmap’ to phase out fossil fuels at COP
24 Nov 2025
By Liz Kivi | Eighty-six countries including Australia, the UK, Germany, and Ireland backed a proposal at COP30 for national plans on how to quit oil, gas and coal – but New Zealand wasn’t one of them.
Hello, foreign oligarchs and corporations! Please come and sue the UK for billions
Wed 3 Dec 2025
COMMENT: The case of a planned Cumbrian coalmine shows how governments around the world are being threatened by litigation in shadowy offshore courts.
Govt's emissions ‘buffer’ an illusion with all NZ's carbon budgets off track
28 Nov 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Dr Christina Hood, head of consultancy Compass Climate, says the Government’s claim that New Zealand has a comfortable emissions “buffer” to absorb higher agricultural pollution is misleading, with projections showing emissions budgets are actually set to be missed in real terms.
NZ's latest climate target 'weak' – Climate Action Tracker
24 Jun 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand's new international climate target to 2035 is weak, and could even allow for higher emissions than the 2030 target, according to a global scientific project that tracks government climate action.
Storms in the Southern Ocean are producing more rain – and the consequences could be global
Mon 8 Dec 2025
Storms in the Southern Ocean influence weather patterns across Australia, New Zealand and the globe.
Govt rejects advice on international aviation and shipping emissions
Thu 4 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Government has rejected all the Climate Change Commission’s recommendations to strengthen emissions targets.
Heatwaves, downpours and droughts – Auckland on track for more extreme weather
1 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New projections show Auckland will face more heatwaves, heavier downpours, worsening droughts and growing coastal threats as climate extremes intensify, according to a new report from Earth Sciences New Zealand.
Govt green lights rural recycling scheme
Thu 4 Dec 2025
The Government has approved new regulations to bring rural waste schemes under one unified framework.
Govt to unveil RMA replacement as summer looms
Mon 8 Dec 2025
The last session of Parliament for the year begins this week, and the Government is expected to introduce the legislation that will replace the Resource Management Act.
Shipping movements disrupted as climate change protesters block coal ships
2 Dec 2025
NSW police have arrested 141 people who attempted to block the shipping channel in Newcastle Harbour during Rising Tide protests, which began on Thursday.
Straterra has a new name: the New Zealand Minerals Council
16 Apr 2025
Media release | Straterra has been renamed as New Zealand Minerals Council, says chief executive Josie Vidal.
Rare win for renewable energy: Trump administration funds geothermal network expansion
Fri 5 Dec 2025
A first-in-the-nation heating and cooling network in Massachusetts is set to double in size.
Southland's waters warming faster
Mon 8 Dec 2025
Matthew Rosenberg, Local Democracy Reporter | Waters are warming in Murihiku Southland at higher rates than elsewhere, with implications for fisheries and habitats.
Solar households to get little-noticed tax break
23 Sep 2025
A provision in the government’s latest tax bill would exempt households from paying tax on income they earn by selling excess electricity back to the grid.
Pollution from coal plants was dropping. Then came Trump and AI.
1 Dec 2025
Data centres’ hunger for electricity is prompting some states to keep their coal-burning power plants from closing – while DC relaxes air pollution limits.
Last minute change to oil and gas legislation over cleanup costs
31 Jul 2025
By Liz Kivi | The government is expected to repeal the oil and gas ban today, with a last-minute amendment handing discretionary power to two ministers over the controversial issue of decommissioning.
Spain announces $1.5 billion package to boost electric vehicle market
Fri 5 Dec 2025
Spain's plan includes 400 million euros in direct subsidies in 2026 for consumers to buy EVs.
Kaicycle celebrates ten years of collective climate action in Pōneke
14 Nov 2025
Media release: Kaicycle | Since 2015, Kaicycle has grown from a humble pilot project growing kai and collecting compost on bicycles into the thriving urban farm and composting hub that Wellingtonians know and love.
Study provides a step-change in understanding NZ’s groundwater
28 Nov 2025
Media release | Earth Sciences New Zealand has developed a world-first National Groundwater Age Map and a powerful suite of tools to support the sustainable management of our hidden groundwater resources, from national through to local scales.
Wildfires destroy 40 homes and kill a firefighter in Australia
Today 11:15am
There were 52 wildfires burning across New South Wales on Monday and nine remained out of control. A total of 20 homes had destroyed over the weekend in that state.
NZ’s energy system at a crossroads – report
21 Nov 2025
A new report says New Zealand’s rapid shift toward a 95% renewable electricity system is at a critical turning point, urging faster consenting, stronger firming solutions and better grid planning.
