Dry-Year Risk
Domestic Portfolio vs LNG Infrastructure New Zealand faces a seasonal energy deficit in a severe dry year, creates a 1.5–2.0 TWh seasonal energy shortfall, typically concentrated in winter, coinciding with peak demand. The current policy proposal is to address this via permanent LNG import infrastructure (~$200M/year fixed cost plus fuel). The MBIE paper to Cabinet […]
NZ Electricity End-State
A practical end-state for New Zealand’s electricity system New Zealand has the opportunity to transition to a highly efficient, resilient electricity system. This requires not only incremental reform, but a clear view of the destination. Without this, there is a risk that decisions made today will need to be revisited, increasing cost and delaying progress. […]
Residential Flexibility
A Working Example This is a working residential site demonstrating how solar, batteries and simple control can reduce electricity costs, support the network, and enable renters to participate. It introduces the concept of “capacity value” at the LV level. fig.1 Cycle the battery 1x per day, discharging into peak 07:00 to 11:00, recharging from solar […]
Legal Challenge against Government
Lawyers for Climate Action NZ Judicial Review against Minister of Energy – March 2026 Jessica Palairet, Executive Director of Lawyers for Climate Action NZ (LCANZ), has taken a judicial review in the High Court against Simon Watts challenging the Government’s second emissions reduction plan (ERP2). The case is tightly constructed. It argues that the plan […]
NZ Fossil Influencers
Current Government Policy The sequence of energy decisions made since the current government took office follows a consistent policy direction: prioritising short-term supply security, regulatory simplification, and market-led energy development. This approach reflects the government’s stated economic philosophy that energy markets should determine investment outcomes and that regulatory barriers to resource development should be reduced. […]
Queenstown Energy
Queenstown is approaching a critical infrastructure moment. Two major pressures are developing at the same time: electricity supply into the basin is reaching its limits and the transport corridor between Frankton, the airport and Queenstown town centre is already failing. Both problems are currently being addressed through traditional infrastructure responses that will cost hundreds of […]
HVAC Electronics
Modern HVAC systems are already power-electronics machines, not simple on/off electrical loads. That is why they fit naturally into the Energy Internet idea. A modern HVAC system (heat pump or air conditioner) does not run its compressor directly from the AC grid. Instead, the incoming AC power is first rectified to DC. That DC is […]
The Energy Internet
Electricity in New Zealand is not expensive because energy is scarce. It is expensive because the delivery system is organised around an outdated assumption that we have to “build to the peaks”. We still design and price electricity as if everyone might need maximum power at the same moment, all the time. That assumption drives […]
Nelson Review – limited
The Nelson Review is intended to be a blueprint for managing Australia’s electricity transition. That description is accurate, but incomplete. The report delivers what it was asked to deliver, and its conclusions are dominated by the constraints placed around it rather than by the full reality of the transition now underway. Those constraints are unusually […]
V2G Tesla
Tesla currently do not support V2G despite it being an opportunity for owners to monetise (pay off the investment) using the huge battery often sitting idle in their garages. fig.1 Asleep 20 hours, could have been arbitraging the spot market and supporting the local grid! e-mail thread with Tesla NZ customer service: Dear Tesla New Zealand Customer […]