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TIMES-NZ and EDGs

MBIE released an update  to its Electricity Demand and Generation Scenarios (EDGS)  showing that across all its scenarios, about half of all energy needs will be met by electricity by 2050. This is similar to the New Zealand Energy System Model – TIMES-NZ (an IEA used model, developed for NZ by BEC, MBIE, EECA and 60 other industry, government, and research partners), where Electricity supplies up to 59% in Kea and 54% in Tūī of all energy demand by 2050. Under both scenarios, this increased demand is met by very large increases in wind generation accompanied by large increases to solar (primarily grid-scale). TIMES-NZ and all its data is currently going through a major update and should be available for everyone in the next year. 

Germany's gas conundrum

Uniper SE, a German energy company, is facing challenges after being cut off from Russian gas supplies. The German government must decide how to enforce a €13 billion ruling against Gazprom, which is unlikely to pay. The situation is delicate, with potential impacts on gas supply and political relations in Europe. Read more…

Bill Gates ready to invest in nuclear power

Bill Gates said he’s prepared to plow billions of dollars into a next-generation nuclear power plant project in Wyoming to meet growing US electricity needs. Read more from Bloomberg...

World's largest sodium-ion battery

The world’s largest sodium-ion battery system was built using 185 Ah sodium-ion batteries built by HiNa Battery, a China-based supplier. The system consists of 42 battery storage containers and 21 sets of boost converters. Interestingly, with the connection of this system to the electrical grid, HiNa batteries broke its record as the world’s largest sodium-battery system, which it held for a 10 MWh unit located in Nanning in southwest China. The unit became operational in May this year. Read more from Interesting Engineering ...

New floating wind farm

Swedish greentech company Eolus has just applied for a new 2.2 gigawatt (GW) offshore wind farm permit. To be called the Skidbladner offshore wind farm, the new farm is planned to comprise up to 147 wind turbines. If the Swedish government approves the permit, it will be sited around 12.4 miles (20 km) north of Gotska Sandön. According to Eolus, the estimated output of 11.7 terawatt-hours (TWh) per year from the project will be enough to meet half the power needs of Stockholm. Read more from Interesting Engineering...

Submissions

BEC has drafted its response to the Commerce Commission on its EDB DPP4 draft decision. The draft has been sent out to members for feedback. Find more on BEC submissions here...

NZ Battery Project 

A number of documents produced for MBIE's NZ Battery Project are now available online. Further documents are still being prepared for publishing and will be added to the NZ Battery Project webpage in the coming months. MBIE stopped investigations into a pumped hydro scheme at Lake Onslow late last year. However their ongoing and wider electricity security work programme includes continuing to consider the question of security of supply and the need for long-duration energy storage. Read more...

Trends in local lines company performance 

The Commerce Commission has published its latest Electricity Trends Report, reviewing the revenue, profitability, and service reliability of local electricity lines companies from 2008 to 2023. By shining a light on performance, lines companies are incentivised to innovate and improve performance for the long-term benefit of Kiwis. Read more...

Farewell from Alison Andrew

Transpower's CEO Alison Andrew finished at Transpower on the 30th June. Alison has lead Transpower for the past 10 years. You can read her farewell message here - Read more...

How to make the Emissions Trading Scheme bulletproof

New Zealand’s Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) is pretty good but could and should be made bulletproof, according to Dr Eric Crampton, chief economist at the New Zealand Initiative. Speaking at GasNZ’s annual Matariki function, Crampton said any other alternatives risked breaking political support for net zero carbon long before the target was reached. Read more...

Research on the impact of charging for infrastructure on NZ households

New research from the New Zealand Infrastructure Commision reveals how different ways to charge for infrastructure affects New Zealanders. In this research they simulated how different mixes of charging policies for electricity, transport and drinking water would affect households on different incomes. Read more...

Residual Supply Mix (RSM) for 2023/24

BraveTrace has released the annual Residual Supply Mix (RSM) for the 2023/24 production year. The Residual Supply Mix is now 4.46% more carbon intensive than the National Supply Mix. For more information on the RSM, check out the BraveTrace website - Read more...

NZ signs environmental trade deal with Switzerland, Costa Rica and Iceland

New Zealand has signed trade deals with Switzerland, Costa Rica and Iceland to remove tariffs on hundreds of environmental products, in a move that will address climate change and sustainability challenges. The Agreement on Climate Change, Trade and Sustainability (ACCTS) will especially benefit New Zealand's wool industry. Read more...

Hydrogen from methane: A game changer for clean energy?

Renewable hydrogen, the clean fuel of the future, is gaining momentum internationally and here in Aotearoa as we strive towards net-zero emissions. It’s promising not only as a transport fuel, but as an alternative to natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for homes and businesses. Read more...

Why does New Zealand have a CO2 shortage?

With food-grade CO2 in short supply in New Zealand, Contact Energy are helping solve this problem. Thanks to some innovative thinking from the team at Contact's Ohaaki geothermal operations near Taupo, they're developing a way to capture small amounts of naturally occurring carbon dioxide released during the geothermal power generation process and convert it to food-grade quality. Read more...