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.  

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.

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?

Micro-grids will play an important part in the future development of our electricity network. This is an interesting read on the "micro-grid as a service (MaaS)" concept which could open doors for new business models - Originally published on Green Tech Media

Increased confidence in the prospect of generating revenue from microgrids, beyond applications related to reliability and resilience, is contributing to the rise of third-party and mixed-ownership models.

With third party and mixed ownership, a new business model emerged: the microgrid-as-a-service (MaaS) or reliability-as-a-service. MaaS can eliminate the historical need for end users to contribute upfront costs on their own, opening up a new market for customers who previously would not have considered a microgrid due to financial barriers.

In 2017, third-party-owned microgrids accounted for 46 percent of new microgrid projects, a notable shift away from majority end-user ownership in previous years. End users still make up a majority of the U.S. microgrid market, owning 83 percent of all operational microgrid projects and 63 percent of capacity. MaaS could be a good option for customers that are more interested in low-cost reliability over potential financial gains from distributed energy resources.

The Electricity Authority are exploring the barriers for consumers to access more than one service/use multiple service providers (eg a retailer and a P2P provider or a combo of these) for electricity-related supply at the ICP level. The objective being to help consumers access more cost-effective supply and better services – from retailers, P2P suppliers, neighbours, lines cos......

Innovation and development are needed to improve services to consumers to take advantage of new tech & business models. The regulatory framework needs to accommodate this and the whole thing can only happen if everyone in the space works together.

SEANZ is formulating a submission and all SEANZ members are encouraged to do the same. 

Some of the key points we will be addressing are:

• ICP smart meters capability and limitations
• Current industry rules & processes may and can limit how a consumer can benefit from technological developments which enable business model developments that help consumers
• Allowing providers to access an ICP/consumers demand and supply data

Submissions close 27^th Feb 2017 - full consultation paper and submission details are available at https://www.ea.govt.nz/development/work-programme/evolving-tech-business/multiple-trading-relationships/

SEANZ Member Mercury has chosen Tesla to install New Zealand’s first national grid-connected battery. 

Tesla has been confirmed as the battery provider for Mercury’s scalable national grid-connected battery trial,
following a competitive tender process that began in September last year.

The SEANZ Conference held in Hamilton and titled “Generating Connections” did exactly that. Connections and networking from right across the industry with solar & battery suppliers, installers, retailers and lines companies and those from the regulatory space.