As energy leaders and policymakers grapple with the current covid crisis, New Zealand and the global energy community are reviewing its implications for the speed and direction of energy transition. New Zealand’s incoming policymakers have important roles to play in shaping our post-covid energy future.

The government’s plan for a pumped hydro scheme in Central Otago is “fanciful” and a costly “rainbow” project that will be abandoned within two years when it proves unworkable, a pre-election panel on energy policy heard Wednesday

The BusinessNZ Energy Council and its members wish to see a more diverse and low carbon energy system across all sectors of the economy.

Energy investment that helps reduce New Zealand’s Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions and protects against dry-year risks can assist in future-proofing our energy system, stabilise prices and enhance sustainability.

“You don’t get the opportunity to help change an energy system every day,” Hiringa Energy chief executive Andrew Clennett says.

A new package of infrastructure investments will help restart New Zealand’s economy and boost the energy sector, the BusinessNZ Energy Council (BEC) says. Executive director Tina Schirr says more than $5 billion of projects across New Zealand are expected to create about 20,000 jobs.

New Zealand is set to benefit from New Zealand Green Investment Finance’s (NZGIF) move to support projects that will cut emissions at Wellington’s CentrePort, the Sustainable Business Council (SBC) and BusinessNZ Energy Council (BEC) say.

Today it was announced NZGIF will provide $15 million to electrify vehicles, generate renewable energy and upgrade energy efficiency at the port.

The strong outcomes we have delivered this year have been based on your input and the input of other leading industry partners. The involvement of experts from across the energy sector, both the private and public sectors, and academia is unique and important to us as we seek to understand and shape New Zealand’s energy policies. The government, other political parties and others are actively using the Trilemma framework as a coordinating principle in the framing of policy ideas. This indicates our continuing successful influence in shaping New Zealand’s energy agenda in a way that reflects the achievement of balanced policies consistent with improving our Trilemma performance. Our highlights of the past year can be found in this review.

ChargeSmart chief executive Nigel Broomhall was on his third trip to this US in 2020 when countries started going into lockdown in response to Covid-19.

The Electricity Authority’s new guidelines for transmission pricing spell the end of a decade of uncertainty, BusinessNZ Energy Council (BEC) Executive Director Tina Schirr says.

Keeping the world’s transition to a lower carbon economy on track post-covid will require greater private sector investment, New Zealand energy executives heard last week.