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"Very quickly, the risks outlined around LNG access have come true. Current events make it harder to immediately buy into why this LNG facility is likely the best option, because it has potentially fallen over at the first hurdle." That's Brad Olsen, chief economist at Infometrics, spelling out what the situation in Iran means for New Zealand on RNZ.
As he says in Kate Newton's story about the shipping delays and price rises as a result of the military action in the Middle East: " ... If the whole idea of the LNG facility was to provide that short-term relief, well, if New Zealand hit a dry-year time and something's happening in the Strait of Hormuz, then you've got a very expensive white elephant that might be sitting there."
The LNG facility is about removing a domestic risk (the dry year), but we're solving it by adding another big international risk and increasing our dependency on imported fuel.
In a more volatile world, relying on a volatile commodity as an insurance policy doesn't stack up. Energy security needs to begin at home.
New South Wales gets the memo about the importance of finance and announces scheme offering zero interest loans to households to upgrade to electric stuff; plug-in solar gets the tick of approval to go on sale in the UK soon and the New York Times says it could 'change America'; EVolocity takes electrification to the streets to gets the kids inspired (and eventually employed); a tour of the amazing recycling business Redwood Materials; Think Solar and BYD give it away now; and a skit that cuts close to the bone for many solar dads.
Read moreDownloadAdvances in technology and falling costs mean customer-owned solar and batteries can play a critical role in New Zealand’s energy infrastructure - improving affordability, resilience and sustainability. Multiple trading relationships (MTR) and peer-to-peer trading would enable this potential by increasing competition, customer choice, and innovation in the electricity market, unlocking greater consumer benefits from customer solar and batteries.
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