Wind, Water, Heart!

Some news recently bought a smile to my dial. Mercury Energy has pushed the “go” button on a major new wind farm near Palmerston North; work begins in August and the farm will start operating from late 2020. Mercury has committed to the construction of the first 33 of 60 consented wind turbines at Turitea near Palmerston North, representing a key milestone in New Zealand’s renewable energy development.…
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The death of coal?

At TransportBlog, we focus on transport and urban issues. However, other topics pop up occasionally. Energy and electricity have always had a link to transport – oil, one of the world’s most versatile energy sources, is mainly turned into petrol or diesel, but it can also be used to create electricity (NZ did this in a small way until the late ’70s).…
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Energy in New Zealand 2015

Each year, the MBIE publishes a report called Energy in New Zealand.* Energy is a crucial input in all parts of our lives, powering our transport and our cities. MBIE’s report starts with an infographic showing various energy facts and figures: To pick up on one fact in this infographic, solar PV (photovoltaic, i.e.…
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Energy, transport and efficiency

Last year, the National Energy Research Institute (NERI) kindly gave us a free ticket to attend the NERI Energy Conference 2014. There were plenty of relevant topics to what we discuss here on the blog, including a great presentation from Mike Underhill, the head of EECA (that’s the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority, a government agency).…
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Postcard from South Africa #1

Greetings from Durban, South Africa, where it can get very hot and humid (apparently 44 degrees and 80% humidity on Christmas, although I wasn’t here for that) and the thunderstorms are pretty impressive (fork lightning is badass). Naturally occurring electricity is one thing, but the manmade power grid is another.…
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Can New Zealand transition to 100% renewable electricity? (Spoiler: yes)

New Zealand has excellent renewable electricity resources. We’ve got hydro, wind and geothermal up the wazoo. In a typical year, more than 70% of our electricity comes from renewable sources, and the government wants this to increase to 90% by 2025 (for non-dry years).  Source: Energy in New Zealand 2013, MBIE Researchers at the University of Canterbury have been investigating whether NZ could generate 100% of our electricity from renewable sources.…
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