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Contact's grid-scale battery at Glenbrook is switched on and the Prime Minister talks again about 'energy independence' at the opening; how steel mills and smelters here and overseas are embracing electrons; the electric wave is a massive job creation opportunity (while imported oil does bugger all on that front) and renewable projects are set to keep New South Wales out of recession; batteries have all but displaced gas for peaks in Queensland in just a couple of years, and solar and wind overtake gas for the first time globally; data shows sales of internal combustion cars peaked in 2017 but sales of EVs more than doubled between 2022 -2025; and anyone with a heat pump is making a killing.

A proposal to let people install solar panels and other green technology using low-interest loans from their council needs to go ahead "as soon as possible", its proponents say. The government asked Local Government New Zealand to present its business case for the proposed Ratepayer Assistance Scheme (RAS) in late 2025. However, ministers still had not made any decisions about whether to go ahead with the scheme - which would let councils provide long-term loans to any homeowner who wanted to access them. That's despite growing political support from parties across the spectrum.

Queenstown, New Zealand (18 May 2026) Leading politicians debated New Zealand's energy future on the second day of Electrify Queenstown 2026 today. The sold-out session, moderated by journalist Paddy Gower, opened with speeches from Deputy Prime Minister and ACT Party Leader Hon. David Seymour, Labour Leader Rt Hon. Chris Hipkins, Energy Minister Hon. Simeon Brown, New Zealand First Co-Leader and Associate Energy Minister Hon. Shane Jones, Green Party Co-Leader Chlöe Swarbrick, and The Opportunities Party Leader Qiulae Wong.