Farewell to the Chair of the BusinessNZ Energy Council

The BEC farewells Hon David Caygill who will be stepping down as the BEC Chair after six years of exemplary service. We thank him for his leadership and contribution to the energy sector and wish him all the best. We are now seeking nominations for a new chair to the BEC. Please get in touch if you have questions. To apply or nominate someone you can contact us via bec@businessnz.org.nz by 15 Nov 2023.

100 years of influence in Energy

Colleagues in Germany, New Zealand and Portugal commemorated the 100th anniversary of the World Energy Council and their Member Committee in October. A founding member of the Council, New Zealand celebrated a century of achievement and being a steadfast partner in the ever-changing energy industry, advocating for better understanding and informed global solutions now and in the future. View the event here...

KPMG NZ's "30 Voices on 2030: The Future of Energy in Aotearoa" first State of the Nation report

KPMG NZ interviewed 30 energy leaders and innovators, including our BusinessNZ Energy Council Executive Director, Tina Schirr, for their 30 Voices on 2030: The future of energy in Aotearoa report. The Voices provide a fascinating picture of how our energy sector might look in 2030. Read more...

Singapore: Navigating the energy trilemma

In a recent New Zealand Foreign Affairs and Trade Manatu Aorere Market Intelligence Report,  Singapore is ardently working to transform its energy sector away from a heavy reliance on oil and natural gas toward more renewable forms of power generation. Read more...

NZ's first carbon zero geothermal power station

As of the end of September, 100% of all naturally occurring geothermal greenhouses gases at Ngāwhā Geothermal Power Station are reinjected underground making all of the electricity consumed in the Far North net carbon zero. Approximately 128,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent gases per annum will be eliminated and the Acaia Forest on site produces enough carbon credits to offset the small amount of diesel and electricity used, making Ngāwhā Generation the first Net Carbon Zero geothermal power operator in New Zealand. Find out more... 

Rethinking Australia's energy transition: six institutional reforms

Australia's current regulatory landscape is ill-equipped to facilitate the rapid transition of the national energy system. Today’s institutional arrangements were put in place 20-30 years ago to manage a very different set of challenges. The urgency of the energy transition requires rethinking the roles played by markets, regulators and governments. Read more...

India joins the global race for green hydrogen energy

India has grand plans for transitioning to Green Hydrogen Energy. The policy put out by the MNRE envisages the production of 10 million tons of green hydrogen by 2030, with half of that being used as a substitute for fossil fuels in transport and in the hard-to-abate industrial sectors. Read more...

The domino effect of natural hazards in energy

When preparing for extreme events, energy leaders must not only consider their own asset risk, but the risk to the infrastructure that their assets and interests depend on. Cyclone Gabrielle made these interdependencies critically apparent and further highlighted the need for resilience planning to account for the interconnections within and between infrastructure systems. Read more...

BEC Submissions

The BusinessNZ Energy Council has just completed work on several submissions, including papers on the Interim Hydrogen Roadmap, the Gas Transition Plan, Electricity Market Measures, developing a regulatory framework for offshore renewables and implementing a ban on new fossil-fuel baseload generation. Read more...

The plane with a plan

New BEC members

The BEC welcomes three new members that have recently joined: the Electricity Retailers' Association of New Zealand (ERANZ), Electricity Networks Aotearoa (ENA) and the New Zealand Geothermal Association (NZGA). We look forward to our association with these organisations.

A new phase for Thundergrid

ThunderGrid has exciting news! Thundergrid has been acquired by Landis+Gyr, a publicly listed, leading global provider of integrated energy management solutions, headquartered in Switzerland. Combining our locally developed IP and approach, with the backing of a global energy leader, means they are well placed to help New Zealand businesses adopt and upscale their EV charging infrastructure, enabling greater energy efficiencies at pace. Read more...

Power Purchase Agreements

Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) between corporate energy users and renewable energy developers can enable investment in new, lower cost renewable electricity generation and drive electrification at pace, Transpower says. However, work is needed to deliver a more liquid PPA market that can play a role driving investment in renewable electricity generation needed to decarbonise Aotearoa New Zealand's economy. Read more...

Launch of New Zealand's first utility scale Battery Energy Storage System

WEL Networks and Infratec have launched New Zealand's largest Battery energy Storage System (BESS) with commissioning underway. The BESS is set to deliver huge benefits to the Waikato region and improve the resilience of the New Zealand electricity system. Read more...

How decarbonisation is transforming the iron and steel industry

Decarbonisation will support the emergence of new production, processing and trading hubs for low-carbon iron and steel. The key drivers: steel producers moving to phase out highly polluting blast furnaces and replace these with electric arc furnaces, powered by renewables; growing demand for less carbon-intensive feedstocks; and the steel industry's increased use of high-grade scrap through recycling. Read more...

Z Energy teams up with Zenobe to give bus batteries a second life

Z Energy (Z) is proud to be working with Zenobē, an Electric Vehicle (EV) fleet and battery storage specialist, to trial a new EV charging solution. The portable, refurbished bus battery is enabling us to install additional EV charging capacity at Z Tom Pearce Drive without needing to upgrade the electricity grid, improving time and cost efficiencies.  Read more...

Cyclone webinar well received and reported

An audience of almost 200 ENA members, stakeholders and media representatives tuned in to Electricity Network’s recent Review of Cyclone Gabrielle webinar, delivering key insights and learnings from the electricity distribution sector’s response to Cyclone Gabrielle. The webinar recording, presenter slides and full report has been published here. Read ENA's submission currently before the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.  

Meridian and NZ Windfarms joint venture of New Zealand's first wind farm repowering

Meridian and NZ Windfarms have agreed to form a 50-50 joint venture to repower and extend the Te Rere Hau wind farm near Palmerston North. The project involves the design, construction and operation of up to 39 new turbines with generation capacity of up to 170 MW, and will be New Zealand’s first wind farm repowering project. Read more...

Can New Zealand afford offshore wind energy?

We often hear the question: can New Zealand afford offshore wind energy? Our answer is that we can't afford to ignore it. Here Nathan Turner, Country Manager for BlueFloat Energy NZ explains why they have partnered together with Elemental Group to bring offshore wind to our shores and why we need it. Read more...