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With the repeal of the oil and gas exploration ban, we're basically investing in Nokia after the iPhone was released. As Rewiring Aotearoa's Mike Casey says, gas is inefficient, it's expensive, not much has been found in New Zealand despite plenty of attempts, and what we do have is running out faster than expected. So why are we investing in an increasingly obsolete technology?
We still need some gas for industry (which is by far the biggest user) and electricity generation (in the short-term), but continuing to back gas ignores economics, emissions and the role that cheaper, cleaner renewable electricity - much of it from large scale and rooftop solar and more of it stored in batteries - is playing elsewhere.
Critics of the ban suggest that it has led to deindustrialisation, but more renewables in the system should help to bring the price of electricity down (and more solar can bring it right down in the middle of the day). In the case of South Australia, that is attracting more businesses that want cheap, reliable, low-emissions electricity and we won't get that from gas.
Biogas isn't a saviour, either. Even if all sources of biogas in Auckland were activated, this would only meet 4% of the network's current demand. And hydrogen isn't ever going to be the sensible, safe, or affordable substitute.
When it comes to running our homes (and cars), electricity is the clear winner - unless you're keen to pay more to give your kids asthma, in which case gas is a great option.
There have been plenty of positive signals from this Government around solar and the geothermal strategy is promising, but encouraging and investing in gas is backwards looking.
Financial commentator Frances Cook uses her own story to show that that an investment in solar and an EV significantly outperforms the stock market and fellow number cruncher Nadine Higgins says that if you do it right, EVs are cheaper to run and own; EV sales have climbed to their highest level since 2022 and are closing in on 2023's numbers and Go Rentals has just invested $2.3 million in some new Tesla Model Y Premiums; the gap between energy costs of diesel vans and utes and electric vans and utes is absolutely massive; solar is also going off right now, with one installer in Otago 448% above their sales target in March; Lightforce has gone back to the Barretts with a new TV ad; Wellington mayor Andrew Little explains its electrification strategy and Hutt City Council shares data showing how its fleet has gone from dirty Toyotas to cleaner EVs; Shenzen in China has electrified its public transport and taxis and that's come with big benefits - and some challenges; and a very simple illustration of the LNG terminal.
Read moreDownloadAs Minister of energy, climate and local government, Simon Watts had a great opportunity to push the country towards cheaper, cleaner and more reliable New Zealand-made energy. And that’s why we laid down a challenge and gave him the ‘MegaWatts’ moniker last year. Rewiring Aotearoa CEO Mike Casey says he did some good things, like enabling more solar on farms, removing tax on solar exports, fixing onerous solar consenting requirements, putting pressure on the lines companies to pull up their socks, and getting the ball rolling on the Ratepayer Assistance Scheme. "But the LNG import terminal appears to have been a defining issue."
Read moreDownloadAfter ‘crunching the numbers’ and adding in new sources of ‘New Zealand-made energy’ to our equations, CEO Mike Casey has announced that Rewiring Aotearoa will be changing its name to Refuelling Aotearoa. There has been a huge amount of independently verified research showing electrification beats fossil fuels on economics, efficiency, emissions and energy security and that there is a huge opportunity for New Zealand to electrify, but the discovery of an infinite supply of snake oil in New Zealand has changed everything, he says.
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