<< back NEW ZEALAND ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT DIGEST July 14, 2004 ELECTRICITY INDUSTRY € All eyes are on Contact sale The Dominion Post 12/07/2004. The sharemarket is holding its breath for the $3.3 billion sale of Contact Energy expected this week. Market observers say the sale process has dragged on since final bids for Contact, New Zealand’s biggest electricity retailer and second-biggest generation company, were lodged last Wednesday with sale advisers Lehman Brothers in the United States. While Edison Mission Energy has wanted to sell is portfolio of power stations across Britain, Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand in one bundle to one buyer, Contact is expected to be sold separately. More… http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,2968733a13,00.html € Increased power prices will lead to revolt – consumer group The Press 07/07/2004. More rises in electricity prices will lead to a consumer revolt against power companies, the Power Consumers Trust predicts. Meridian on Monday announced power price rises for most of its customers, with Christchurch customers facing a 10 per cent jump in their power bill and Marlborough a 20 per cent jump. “I think it’s getting to a stage where people will no longer put up with increased prices,” Power Consumers Trust chairman John Noble said yesterday. More… http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,2963695a11,00.html € TrustPower defends Wairau hydro scheme The Dominion Post 07/07/2004. TrustPower has defended its proposed $240 million hydro-electric scheme on the Wairau River in Marlborough. The company yesterday held two informal sessions with interested members of the public, the first of which was largely attended by farmers from the south and north banks of the river. More… http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,2964883a7693,00.html € Orion network profitability offset by investment write-downs Scoop.co.nz 05/07/2004. Christchurch based electricity network company Orion New Zealand Limited achieved a $35m surplus on its core electricity network in the financial year to 31 March 2004, $2m ahead of its statement of corporate intent forecast. However write-downs on the shareholdings of some of the company’s investments resulted in an overall net surplus of $0.2m, $19.6m below forecast. More… http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/BU0407/S00043.htm € Contact to woo Aussie customers New Zealand Herald 09/07/2004. Contact Energy, the trophy business in a likely takeover offer, has spread its wings across the Tasman, opening its first foreign power retail operation in Melbourne yesterday. Its new subsidiary, Red Energy, has begun taking on customers in Victoria, promising to shake up the state’s power market. Contact is 51% owned by United States energy giant Edison Mission, which is trying to sell all its non-US investments. More… http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/businessstorydisplay.cfm?storyID=3577303&thesection=business&thesubsection=energy&thesecondsubsection=electricity&thetickercode=CEN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT ACT € National aims to streamline RMA decisions The New Zealand Herald 12/07/2004. A National-led Government would seek to make the Resource Management Act more business and development-friendly by creating an environmental protection authority to set national standards. The policy, outlined by environment spokesman Nick Smith at the party’s conference at the weekend, would be part of an eight-point plan to reform the Act. More… http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/businessstorydisplay.cfm?storyID=3577694&thesection=business&thesubsection=general&thesecondsubsection= WATER € Politicians need to act on water quality - Forest and Bird NZPA 06/07/2004. A report that found most of New Zealand’s low-lying rivers and streams were unsafe to swim in was an alert to politicians to act, Forest and Bird says. The environmental lobby group’s spokesman Kevin Hackwell said politicians did not treat the environment as the priority they should. “It’s incredible that the Government and opposition parties are talking about making quick and dirty development easier when the clean green basis of the economy is already in peril,” he said in a statement. More… http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,2963566a7693,00.html € International certification for council water services Scoop.co.nz O8/07/2004. North Shore City Council’s water services division has gained an internationally recognised environmental certification - and it’s believed to be a first in the water industry for a New Zealand local authority. Water services general manager Geoff Mason says the ISO 14001:1996 certificate recognises the water services division’s efforts to protect and improve the environment, a vital part of the council’s overall business. More… http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/AK0407/S00084.htm € Water worries pale in time of plenty The Dominion Post 08/07/2004. It’s crucial for a lot of our fun, most of our power, all of our agriculture and nobody should drink a single malt whisky without some. It’s white water rafting, the Black Stilt, Lake Benmore, gentle green paddocks and the February floods all rolled into one. So when Environment Minister Marian Hobbs invited reporters, on a very quiet news day, to a progress report on the Government’s plans for New Zealand’s fresh water, she got a solid turnout – but barely a word of coverage. More… http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,2965979a1865,00.html AQUACULTURE € Oyster farmers seeking compensation for sewage release New Zealand Herald 07/07/2004. Bay of Islands oyster farmers are increasing a multi-million dollar compensation claim against the Far North District Council after the council recently released 23,000 cubic metres of sewage into the bay. he sewage spill into the Kawakawa River put oyster harvesting in Orongo Bay and the upper Waikare Inlet on hold and farmers now plan to increase an existing $10 million damages claim against the FNDC. More… http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?storyID=3576980&thesection=news&thesubsection=general € Survey to test overfishing claims The Dominion Post 07/07/2004. Scientists are trying to find out the state of our biggest orange roughy fishery. Results of the research, using the latest in sonar technology, will be watched keenly by both the fishing industry and environmentalists. Environmentalists have said the fishery is close to collapse after what they say are years of overfishing – claims hotly disputed by the industry. More… http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,2963802a13,00.html POLLUTION € Christchurch council offers to test properties on former dump The Press 07/07/2004. The Christchurch City Council is offering 78 property owners on its former Sandilands dump free testing for toxic waste. The properties are among 84 privately owned parcels of land on the former Aranui-Wainoni landfill, which was closed in 1942 and developed for housing. Six of the properties have already been tested by the council, with five found to exceed New Zealand guidelines for contaminants. More… http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,2963740a11,00.html € Tide turns on harbour filth NZPA 12/07/2004. Passengers and tourists have been kicking up a stink about it for years – and for the first time today Fuller’s ferries will not dump raw sewage in Auckland Harbour. The company has been within its legal rights in emptying the contents of sewage tanks directly into the sea – provided the boat is more than 500 metres from shore and in water deeper than 5m. More… http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,2969294a7693,00.html GAS INDUSTRY € Maui deal may mean more LPG Scoop.co.nz 07/07/2004. Domestic LPG production could be extended for several more years following the recent agreement to develop remaining gas reserves in Maui. Last month, the Maui Mining Companies, the Crown and major gas users reached an agreement that will ensure the maximum economic recovery of gas from New Zealand’s largest gas field, and extend its life beyond 2007. The new deal should also extend LPG production from Maui, LPG Association president, Owen Poole, said. More… http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/BU0407/S00053.htm KYOTO PROTOCOL € Kyoto Protocol: EU plan for carbon trading clears key hurdle EUBusiness.com 07/07/2004. European Union ambitions to start trading in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions next year to help meet targets under the UN’s global warming pact cleared an important hurdle in Brussels on Wednesday, the European Commission said. The EU executive announced it had approved eight national plans for sharing out emissions for energy-intensive industrial plants, a vital preparatory step for setting up a “carbon market” next January. More… http://www.eubusiness.com/afp/040707144046.h68x1ue4 € Scientist sets high target for emissions New Zealand Herald 09/07/2004. Australia’s Chief Scientist wants his country to halve its emissions of global warming gases by 2050 - a far bolder target than the Howard Government has adopted. Dr Robin Batterham, who serves two days a week as Chief Scientist and three days a week as chief technologist for mining giant Rio Tinto, says he would have been happier if the Government had set such a target in an energy white paper which it issued last month. More… http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/businessstorydisplay.cfm?storyID=3577302&thesection=business&thesubsection=general&thesecondsubsection=&thetickercode= WASTE MANAGEMENT € Commerce commission investigates Canterbury landfill The Press 06/07/2004. The Commerce Commission is investigating Canterbury’s $30 million regional dump to make sure it doesn’t stifle competition. Work has already started on the controversial landfill east of Waipara on the North Canterbury coast after Environment Court approval. The landfill will take rubbish from six local authority areas. A commission spokeswoman said yesterday it had reopened an investigation into the landfill begun in 2000 to check the dump was not “anti-competitive”. More… http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,2962690a11,00.html CONSERVATION € New marine reserve proposed in Northland NZPA 09/07/2004. The Department of Conservation (DOC) is proposing a new marine park in Northland. DOC Northland conservator Chris Jenkins said that DOC was proposing, in a discussion document released yesterday, that Mimiwhangata marine park become a fully protected marine reserve. Mimiwhangata is on the east coast about 50km north of Whangarei. More… http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,2966133a7693,00.html NUCLEAR ENERGY € Nuclear siren song beguiles Blair BBC 09/07/2004. The only way to meet the UK’s promises on tackling climate change may mean it has to opt for nuclear power, the prime minister has told a committee of MPs. His declaration will scandalise many environmental groups, but it will draw praise from several influential greens. Tony Blair made no commitment to build a new round of nuclear power stations, and acknowledged the obstacles ahead. More… http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3873165.stm ENERGY SAVING € Water-heating innovation a money-saver The Daily News 08/07/2004. Charlie Morrison saw dollars going down the drain every time he dumped his new milking shed’s used hot water. But the idea the Waverley farmer came up with to limit the waste won him and his new business partner, Auckland entrepreneur Bruce McKinnon, a prototype merit award at the National Fieldays and opened the door to an exciting new business venture. More… http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,2965904a3600,00.html |