Topics tagged with 'Energy'

Mercury Kaiwera Downs windfarm opens
22 Nov 2023
Media release | Mercury has cut the ribbon to celebrate stage one of the Kaiwera Downs Windfarm coming online.

NZ signs up to US-led clean energy framework
21 Nov 2023
New Zealand is one of 14 countries in the US-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) that agreed to two more "pillars" of the initiative last week, covering cooperation on clean energy and anti-corruption measures.

Contact hopes renewable projects will reduce ‘dry year risk’
20 Nov 2023
Contact Energy’s senior staff seem full of hope that the coming month will bring to an end a few uncertainties in the electricity sector.

We’re burning too much fossil fuel to fix by planting trees – making ‘net zero’ emissions impossible with offsets
20 Nov 2023
By Mike Joy | The idea that we can mitigate current carbon emissions by “offsetting” them with carbon reduction initiatives elsewhere has become central to government and business responses to climate change. But it’s an idea we need to seriously question.

Commerce Commission should expect backlash from lines companies
9 Nov 2023
There is likely to be a strong backlash from the regulated lines companies at the Commerce Commission’s initial views on their revenue path from 2025 to 2030.

Climate protestors target dairy, fertiliser, and gas
7 Nov 2023
Climate activists blockaded three targets simultaneously on Sunday - the Whareroa Fonterra Dairy factory, the Kapuni Ballance fertiliser factory, and Todd Energy’s gas plant.

Badly designed biodiversity credit system could impact national grid
2 Nov 2023
Transpower - the state-owned operator of the national grid - has warned that a badly designed biodiversity credit system could pose risks for the country’s power lines.

One winter survived, but the next looks tight as well
2 Nov 2023
A review of Winter 2023 shows how the electricity sector managed to navigate several periods of tight supply and warns similar conditions will prevail next winter in managing peak demand.

Marsden Fund grants for climate research
2 Nov 2023
Research into climate and the energy transition are among 123 projects taking $83.59 million from this year’s Te Pūtea Rangahau a Marsden, the Marsden Fund, announced today.

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.