16 Nov 2017  - The International Energy Agency’s new forecast that demand for natural gas will increase 45% by 2040 is a major opportunity for New Zealand, says the Petroleum Exploration and Production Association of New Zealand (PEPANZ).  “Global demand for natural gas is only going to grow because it has half the greenhouse emissions of coal. This means that producing and exporting it from New Zealand has the potential to be a win-win outcome for global emissions and for our economy,” says PEPANZ CEO Cameron Madgwick. “The report clearly highlights the role natural gas can play in reducing emissions…

30 Oct:  The blockchain is becoming popular and useful not only in fintech and related industries. Decentralized and distributed ledgers are also now being used in ensuring security and fair trade in industries like energy, which now enables communities to achieve better energy efficiency, reduced carbon footprint, and even the potential to earn from their real properties/assets. Individual power generatorsOff-grid energy generation is a concept that is continually growing both in popularity and capacity. In some cases, individuals or household owners who generate more energy than they consume can actually sell such surplus to power companies. The growth of the…

As Tesla races to deliver its grid and wind farm-connected 129MWh lithium-ion battery in time for South Australia’s coming summer, a much smaller-scale version of some of the same technology is set to be switched on at a salt manufacturing facility across the Tasman, on New Zealand’s South Island. NZ utility business Vector Energy Solutions said on Monday that a 250kW/570kWh Tesla Powerpack would soon be switched on at Dominion Salt’s Lake Grassmere works, to store and smooth energy from the already installed 660kW wind turbine. Integration of the wind turbine and Tesla battery storage system – believed to be…

The Taxpayers’ Union can reveal that over $7 million of taxpayer money has been spent on the power bills of 94 of New Zealand’s largest companies since July 2014. The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority’s (EECA) ‘large energy users programme’ provides funding to businesses, in an attempt to encourage them to reduce energy use. Of this $7 million, more than $1 million has been wasted on 'initiatives' which haven't recorded any energy savings to date. Taxpayers’ Union Researcher, Matthew Rhodes says, “Taxpayer money doesn’t need to be spent telling the country’s largest power users to save power. All of these…

Energy and Resources Minister Judith Collins has today released the New Zealand Energy Efficiency and Conservation Strategy 2017-2022. The Strategy, Unlocking our energy productivity and renewable potential, is a companion to the New Zealand Energy Strategy 2011-2021. It sets the overarching direction for Government and specific actions for the promotion of energy efficiency and renewable sources of energy. Ms Collins says the goal of the Strategy is for New Zealand to have an energy productive and low emissions economy. “Through this Strategy, we are encouraging businesses, individuals, and public sector agencies to take actions that will help New Zealand make…

20 June 2017 – Wellington, New Zealand - New Zealand Energy Corp. (the “Company”) (TSX-V: NZ) announced today that it has appointed PricewaterhouseCoopers, Chartered Accountants, New Zealand as auditor of the Company effective 20 June 2017. Given the consolidation of the Company’s head office and administrative functions in New Zealand, it was deemed appropriate for the audit to be managed by an auditor based in New Zealand rather than Canada. The resignation of the Company’s former auditor, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Chartered Accountants, Vancouver, BC, was accepted by the Company effective 20 June 2017. On behalf of the Board of Directors “James…

Prime Minister Bill English has announced funding to kickstart a major upgrade of the electricity network in the Tongan capital. New Zealand’s early commitment is expected to assist Tonga to attract other investors for the project. “Our $5 million support will help provide safe, reliable electricity to around 8,500 households and businesses in Nuku’alofa and save around $1.1 million a year through reduced line losses,” Mr English says. “This builds on New Zealand’s previous energy investments in Tonga, which include Tonga’s first large-scale solar farm in 2012, and other significant network upgrades. “Access to clean, reliable energy is essential for…

The BusinessNZ Energy Council (BEC) today released the second in its series of reports on energy scenarios to 2050. This report looks at the contribution the energy and transport sectors can make to emission reductions (BEC 2050: A deep dive into the New Zealand energy and transport sector emissions). "The challenge of meeting our Paris Agreement target of a 30 percent reduction in emissions from 2005 levels by 2030 lies ahead of us," said BEC Chair Hon David Caygill. "In taking our scenarios work to the next level we can now better understand both the scale of the challenges and…

The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) today opened the latest funding round for Crown loans to support energy efficiency and renewable energy projects across public sector organisations EECA Business General Manager Greg Visser said public sector organisations could access interest-free loans to invest in energy efficiency improvements and renewable energy technology. “The opportunities are many and varied. A hospital may swap environmentally unfriendly boilers for heat pumps, a polytech might retrofit super-efficient LED lights, or a council might receive assistance to invest in electric vehicles,” Mr Visser said. “Invariably, entities such as hospitals and universities have higher priorities than…

Early adopters of new technology that cuts energy use or carbon emissions can get support for their innovative project in a new funding round announced by the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) today. EECA provides support towards the cost of energy saving or renewable energy technology that has yet to be widely adopted in New Zealand. “We are looking to support technology that is innovative, under-utilised or has not been applied in the New Zealand environment,” said EECA Project Manager, Dinesh Chand. “We are looking to support pioneering projects that can be replicated by other companies so that energy…

Though still in the prototype stage, EMPA is currently looking for commercial partners to assist in creating a compact version of the system for household domestic use(Credit: EMPA) Making the move away from using fossil fuels for heating is a necessary part of creating a sustainable future, but it's often a difficult ask for many people when turning up a thermostat on a gas or electric heater provides instant, trouble-free warmth. If people are to be convinced to switch to more renewable sources, it makes sense that there need to be easy-to-use systems available to encourage them to do so.…