Renee Goldup posted on July 01, 2010 11:22
A Regional Energy Strategy Workshop was held on 24 June at the Invercargill Workingmen's Club. 50 Southland stakeholders attended the workshop to discuss ideas, issues and opportunities for the region.
A presentation was made by Ben Dunbar-Smith from EECA (New Zealand’s Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority). Mr. Dunbar-Smith spoke about why energy is important, what is driving energy demand and New Zealand’s current situation.
Mr. Dunbar-Smith said New Zealand spends $15.3billion per year on energy. As a nation, we waste about half of that.
Attendees were broken into four groups, thermal/coal/generation/chemical processes and biological processes/waste, planning policy and RMA, renewables and industrial development. Each group was directed by an Aurecon representative.
Group one reported that the high moisture content of lignite limits its export capabilities and believe three barriers to Solid Energy's regional plans are infrastructure, resources and consents.
Group two stated that the Regional Energy Strategy needed to be objective in order for it to be used as a platform on a regional, national and international scale, with a focus on future scenarios.
Group three said a likely barrier to the uptake of solar water heating was the cost of the initial investment. Venture Southland's Enterprise Projects Manager, Steve Canny said more and more people were now choosing renewable solutions because of the environmental implications, despite the financial concerns.
Group four reported that new technologies were developing all the time so tertiary education institutes needed to work with major industry players to encourage people to gain the skills needed for future developments.
The range of ideas and concepts discussed at the workshop indicated that there is a greater awareness of the importance of energy, energy efficiency, utilisation of biomass, building efficiency, transport fuels and the need for future energy planning, than has been evident in recent years.
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