Strategy to help Southland plan for the future

Future energy planning is one of the biggest challenges New Zealand is currently facing.

Whilst Southland is an energy-rich region, our challenges are no different to other regions. Changes to the reliability of transport fuel supply and cost and electricity prices will have a significant impact on the way we continue to do business in Southland – this is why energy planning is essential.

In the past, Southland has taken a lead in the energy sector by having a regionally coordinated approach to energy, with the first energy assessment for the region undertaken in 2003, and the Regional Energy Strategy published in 2005.

What started as a review of the 2005 strategy to look at the current challenges associated with energy provision in Southland, led to the development of the 2011 Southland Energy Strategy – arguably one of the most important documents for our region to be released this year.

Venture Southland Enterprise and Strategic Projects Manager, Steve Canny, said a lot had been achieved between strategies including the successful implementation of a regional warm homes project, significant investment in transmission lines in and out of the region and the completion of a large wind farm project at White Hill.

“A differentiating aspect of the current strategy is the recognition of transport energy as a significant challenge for our region, with emphasis placed on various modes of transport and alternative transport fuels,” Mr Canny said.

Another change since the previous strategy is the focus on lignite and related projects including the development of a briquetting plant in Mataura and the potential development of a urea and liquid fuels plant.

The updated strategy endeavours to look at issues and opportunities for future energy use, and investigate ways of reducing dependency on energy use through energy efficiency. Efficiency can be achieved in our buildings through insulation, appropriate use of thermal mass, introducing solar hot water, the use of photovoltaic panels and a range of other energy sources such as quality wood products.

“It outlines the strategic actions needed to ensure Southland has a secure and cost effective energy supply, to enable and foster community and economic development, while acknowledging that maintaining our environment’s health underpins the ability for this development to occur.

Energy, its availability and cost, will be hugely important factors in determining the standard of living Southland people will enjoy in the future,” Mr Canny said.

A number of projects have also contributed to the strategy, including a wood energy investigation and the evaluation of opportunities to generate energy from waste.

This work has formed an important insight into the potential utilisation of waste wood from harvesting activities to fuel commercial boilers as well as assessing the energy that can be produced from bio waste and the volumes of waste material that might be available for these purposes.

The 2011 Southland Energy Strategy outlines the challenges and opportunities for the region with regard to future energy generation, storage and use. From the strategy, a list of strategic actions is being prepared by Venture Southland in consultation with key stakeholders for implementation.

Funding for the document was received from the Energy Efficiency Conservation Authority and Environment Southland.