Archive for January, 2009

“Positive Energy” House First For NZ

An Auckland company has developed what is believed to be NZ’s first “positive energy” house, which generates all its electricity from the sun and puts surplus power into the grid under a special deal with Contact Energy. The two-bedroom house at Kaiwaka in Northland has a combination of solar PV panels and solar hot water […]

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Low Oil Prices A Mixed Blessing?

While most businesses are heaving a sigh of relief after the collapse of global oil process last year, NZ’s oil exploration industry is not likely to be quite so ecstatic. High prices for crude have not only helped the NZ economy in the past 12 months, as “black gold” joined the “white gold” of the […]

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Stand-By Generation Plant In Wrong Place

A review of last year’s winter electricity shortage has proposed the $150m Whirinaki back-up power station needs to be re-located, and run on gas rather than diesel if the reserve energy scheme is continued. The report which is being undertaken for the Electricity Commission by energy sector consultant David Hunt and company director John Isles […]

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