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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.
When Mike Casey bought his house near Cromwell, it came with gas bottles on the side of the home for water and an expensive diesel system for the underfloor heating. He replaced both of them with a Steibel Eltron system and it's been saving him money ever since. As technical manager Bhawesh Singh told him at the Electrify Queenstown conference, there has been a big influx in enquiries from homes looking to get off the molecules and onto electrons.
Read moreDownloadConfidence that cutting regulations to make solar power more accessible - won't jeopardise people's safety. A new Regulation Ministry reports laid out a potential blueprint to legalise plug-in solar and reduce the time and cost of panel installation. Rewiring Aotearoa CEO Mike Casey shares his thoughts with Andrew Dickens.
The burgeoning demand for solar was also a chance to address a mismatch between the numbers of training opportunities available and young people searching for work, Casey said. "The mums of New Zealand are telling me that there's not enough apprenticeships for their kids and the solar installers of New Zealand are telling me there's not enough trained people."
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