Energy sector in support

WELLINGTON: The energy sector has largely shown support for the Climate Change Commission’s plan to decarbonise the economy and slash emissions.

Draft advice from the independent commission calls for the electrification of the transport fleet and of those industries reliant on fossil fuels.

Commission chairman Rod Carr said the country would have to increase renewable energy generation by 170% in the next 15 years to meet future demand.

Meridian Energy chief executive Neal Barclay welcomed the commission’s advice to take bold and urgent climate action.

The industry was in good shape to meet the requirements, even as future investment would come with a hefty price tag, he said.

‘‘It’ll take billions of dollars of investment but we are very fortunate in this country — we’ve got a large number of sizeable generators with solid balance sheets.

‘‘International capital is just crying out for new renewable project, so there is no shortage of funding available to build the . . . generation we have to build.’’

Mr Barclay added it was now cheaper to operate wind and solar projects compared with coal and gasbased generation.

The biggest challenge for the industry was the consenting process for projects, he said.

‘‘Typically, it’s been about a 10year timeframe to take a renewable project from an idea and piece of land to [an] actual buildable project.

‘‘I think to hit the sort of targets the commission are calling out as necessary we need to halve that timeframe.’’

Simon Mackenzie chief executive of Vector, the country’s biggest lines company, said his company was already involved in solar panels, battery storage, and smart technology to manage demand and supply.

It was not just a case of more renewable energy, but smarter usage, he said. — RNZ