As energy leaders and policymakers grapple with the current Covid crisis, New Zealand and the global energy community are reviewing the implications for the speed and direction of energy transition. Energy related projects often stimulate significant investment and can create jobs where there is a sound regulatory environment across the sector. New Zealand’s policymakers, investors and consumers all have important roles to play in shaping how a post-Covid future might look. As we strive to sell our goods and services to the rest of the world, increasingly low carbon energy will be an enabler of this new society by driving innovation, economic recovery and creating a positive image for New Zealand.

The ‘energy trilemma’, the balancing of affordability, security and environmental sustainability outcomes, has been successfully embedded into the New Zealand energy conversation since we raised it in our 2014 Energy Briefing. It serves as a useful lens through which to view the effectiveness of past policies and a way to think about new challenges and opportunities. The energy sector is being transformed at an unprecedented pace by three reinforcing trends affecting the supply and demand of energy – decarbonisation, digitalisation and decentralisation - opportunities that allow policy makers and investors to address the energy trilemma.

BusinessNZ Energy Council’s overview of the energy sector for the new government, with recommendations for ongoing improvement and how to leverage New Zealand’s domestic success internationally.