The planet needs paths, instead of a bridge, to a low-carbon economy to keep its temperature rise to under 2 degrees.

Article: Molly Melhuish

The Commerce Commission has written an open letter outlining its intention to gather information from regulated electricity distributors to better understand how they are planning, investing and accounting for emerging technologies. SEANZ has been raising concerns about the ability of regulations to keep pace with new technologies and have been advocating for the Commission to take an active role in this space for a long time.  

With New Zealand and the world on a rocketing trajectory for electric vehicle uptake, battery technology and production looks like it will be one of the key factors in maintaining growth in the industry and who will come out on top. 

With the announcement that the Government will end offshore oil and gas exploration in New Zealand, and at the end of our four-yearly schooling by Australia in how to win medals, Vector’s Karl Check says parts of Australia are also making pretty good progress when it comes to shifting away from coal and gas fired power plants and onto renewal energy sources.

Media Release for immediate use - 05 April 2018

The Sustainable Electricity Association NZ (SEANZ) said today that the Government needed to do more to enable the adoption of new clean energy technologies by kiwi homes and businesses if the country is to avoid the $30b additional costs predicted in the Westpac NZ Climate Change Impact Report released yesterday.

The field of environmental management, conservation and sustainability is ripe with challenges and opportunities. Leaders have a critical role to play in the preservation, rejuvenation and governance of our natural resources. The future of society and business hinges upon those who are able to envision their leadership potential beyond the boundaries of their limitations.

Media Release for immediate use - 16 March 2018 1pm

SEANZ clarifies benefits of solar to low-income earners and NZ electricity sector

The Sustainable Electricity Association NZ (SEANZ) today moved to clarify the impact of solar and battery storage on low-income earners and to reiterate the financial, social, and environmental benefits to all kiwis of a hastier transition to smart distributed energy technologies contained in an earlier report.

There is no argument - the world must wean itself from fossil fuels. Whilst every day we are doing a little more toward kicking the carbon habit for good, we need to do much more.

That's why SEANZ has joined a long list of business leaders, iwi leaders, scientists, environmentalists, actors, musicians, health professionals and others in pledging our support for the New Zealand Government to end oil and gas exploration now, as a vital step in addressing climate change. Keep reading for more detail about why we signed the Open Letter or if you just want to add your name to the letter as well then head straight here. 

Attention-grabbing headline right! How can anyone save $867,000 by installing solar? 

This is a view published by Fire-kiwi on how you can achieve even greater financial benefits from installing solar. The interesting component is how it can be used and linked to your mortgage to generate additional savings - It's an interesting view and one that warrants consideration.

Some of the numbers are optimistic especially the whole of life term used. A conservative calculation would use a system life of 25 years although there are solar systems that are over 30 years old in operation and still going strong. 

Check it out and decide for yourself if it would work for you and let us know your thoughts. 

Everyone's situation is different so starting with some more accurate baseline numbers is important - check out SEANZ’s Solar Optimiser to see what the savings from solar could look like for your household or business. 

NB. This blog is not connected with SEANZ and it is not representative of SEANZ’s views.

The South Australian Government recently announced a deal with Tesla to build a 250MW virtual power plant and in doing so, have ushered in the the future of the electricity network - but what is a virtual power plant and why are they the future?