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On Newstalk ZB, Energy Resources Aotearoa chief executive John Carnegie spoke with Mike Hosking about the need for coal and gas to provide enough electricity in what looks like another dry year. But there is another option.
GAs and coal will be required in the short term, but we would argue that "it's the answer" mostly because the extra renewable generation hasn't been built fast enough; it's a bit like saying McDonald's is the answer for dinner after forgetting to go to the shops.
Rewiring Aotearoa has a different (and cheaper) answer to the supply problem.
Our hydro system is basically a massive battery and more rooftop and ground mount solar on our homes, farms and businesses could keep water in the hydro lakes for when we need it most.
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It's a particularly compelling option in a dry year where there is an average 11% increase in solar production. When it's not raining, it's shining and, as the graphic shows, that 11% bump creates a significant amount of additional hydro storage - and it could be rolled out a lot more quickly than a new gas field.
A briefing to the new Energy Minister talks about households and businesses finding energy unaffordable. We always come at these issues from a customer perspective and generating your own electricity for your own electric machines is not only good for the energy system, it's the cheapest option for customers.
Like highways, peak times are the main concern, but the grid can handle it if we adopt new technology and change our behaviour.
For example, Forest Lodge Orchard produces around 80% of the electricity it needs to run its 21 electric machines via rooftop and ground mount solar. It stores a lot of that electricity in batteries, so while its electricity consumption has increased dramatically, it doesn’t use any more electricity at peak times.
It can actually be a net positive by exporting during congestion times and powering roughly 25 neighbouring homes.
At a household level, home batteries (and soon enough batteries that come with free wheels AKA electric vehicles with bidirectional charging that can power your house or feed back to the grid) make those calculations even better.
Heating water, which makes up around 30% of a home’s energy use (if you don’t count your car), can also be timed for the solar window.
The long-term answer to our electricity issues is not sitting at the bottom of the ocean or on a ship sent from Indonesia. At least part of the answer is beaming down from the sky.
How the sun led to higher salaries for teachers in the US and why this should be happening here, too; how "the once-rigid link between economic growth and carbon emissions is breaking across the vast majority of the world" as electrification gives more countries a productivity boost (and how that would allow New Zealand to keep embracing our long, languid summer break); solar continues to weather storms and provide 'free resilience'; Dunedin laundry company Preens goes electric and saves over 300 utes worth of emissions; the company that wants you to drink diesel exhaust; and a wonderful rundown of the Kill Bills tour - and the national electrification opportunity - from one of the tour sponsors.
Read moreDownloadAs gas supplies decline and prices rise, electrification is the best bet, but it's hard for big businesses without government support. Kirsty Johnston talks to Rainbow Nurseries about how it made the switch with help from a grant, and others who are unsure they will be able to keep getting gas. As one busines owner said: "We never considered the risk to the business of not actually having natural gas," one participant said. "We always expect that the price could fluctuate… But we never anticipated maybe having no gas coming from the pipeline." There are ways for the Government to help. And there is a huge amount of new renewable electricity coming on stream, so there won't be a shortage of electrons.
Read moreDownloadMarc Daalder reports on Vector's declining gas network and how it is responding to falling customer numbers. As he writes: "Gas in Auckland is formally past its peak in the latest forecasts from Vector, the city’s only gas distribution business, with new connections set to fall to zero in three years ... From 2029, there would be no new residential or commercial connections – with new industrial connections projected to have already ceased this year."
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