Research Reveals New Zealand Can Lead Global Energy Transition – If Barriers To Renewables Are Unlocked

· Report reveals New Zealand is well placed compared to other countries in reaching its 100 per cent renewable energy goals and could become a world leader in excess energy supply to global markets - but critical barriers still need to be removed.

· 72 per cent of energy leaders in New Zealand point to the supply disruption as their number one concern for transitioning to renewables.

· 75 per cent of leaders cite social acceptance as one of the biggest barriers to advancing new energy projects that could help tackle the global energy crisis.

· To progress, the research prompts the need for urgent change, with GHD New Zealand outlining that fit-for-purpose consenting, bold reform, enhanced grid capacity, co-funding and increased collaboration between government, business, and community are needed.

New research launched today underscores the seismic impacts of the current global energy crisis on New Zealand – and indicates significant potential for the country to become a world leader in exporting energy from renewable sources if critical barriers can be removed.

SHOCKED – one of the largest global opinion research studies undertaken among energy sector leaders – finds 94 per cent of leaders believe the current energy crisis is the worst the market has experienced.

The report by global professional services company, GHD, shows there is significant and real progress in New Zealand towards becoming 100 per cent reliant on renewable energy – but leaders still share many concerns with the global crisis.

The research found that 69 per cent of New Zealand energy companies accelerated their investment in increasing their renewable energy mix during the past year, while a significantly lower nine per cent decelerated investment.

“We know transitioning to sustainable, clean energy is a priority for most New Zealand businesses and if we can overcome the remaining barriers for supply and demand then we have the potential to generate excess, secure, reliable and affordable power,” says Nick Eldred, Technical Director Future Energy, at GHD New Zealand.

“As a country we have a real opportunity to both transition our energy supply to meet our emission reduction targets and potentially export clean energy to global markets.”

SHOCKED suggests 72 per cent of energy leaders in New Zealand point to the supply disruption as their number one concern for transitioning to renewables and 75% of leaders cite social acceptance as one of the biggest barriers to advancing new energy projects that could help tackle the crisis.

“We are seeing significant and positive progress towards our aspirational goal of 100 per cent renewable energy by 2030 but there are continuing difficulties we need to overcome with our grid capacity, our consenting processes, social licence for solar and wind, and how we agree on funding the transition,” says Eldred.

Read the full SHOCKED Report or find out more at: shocked.ghd.com

Notes to the editor – SHOCKED Global Research Report

The GHD report identifies three ‘shocks’ that underlie the energy crisis:

• A security shock is being triggered by extreme market volatility and geopolitical tensions.
• Rapidly disappearing energy affordability and reliability has created a societal shock. Over three-quarters (76 per cent) of global energy leaders say standards of living are falling because of the energy crisis.
• A climate shock is also unfolding as the climate crisis accelerates, with 76 per cent of global energy leaders believing they are under more pressure than any other industry to decarbonise.

SHOCKED also identifies five key, global priorities to help de-risk the energy transition:

– Priority 1: Unlocking money and markets

– Priority 2: Supercharging engineered solutions

– Priority 3: Carefully balancing supply chains and resources

– Priority 4: Securing community understanding and social acceptance

– Priority 5: Ensuring a just transition

Report methodology:

SHOCKED is one of the largest studies ever conducted with the global energy sector C-suite. It utilises two core research methods: quantitative opinion research among 450 senior energy sector decision-makers and 10 qualitative interviews with industry thought leaders.

The study focuses on 10 key markets: Australia, Canada, Chile, Germany, New Zealand, Singapore, the Philippines, the UAE, the UK and the USA. Additional interviews were conducted with leaders based in Brazil, China, Egypt, India and South Africa.

Visit the SHOCKED microsite to read more about the challenges confronting the energy industry and routes to build resilience – shocked.ghd.com

About GHD:

GHD is a leading professional services company operating in the global markets of water, energy and resources, environment, property and buildings, and transportation. Committed to a vision to make water, energy and communities sustainable for generations to come, GHD delivers advisory, digital, engineering, architecture, environmental and construction solutions to public and private sector clients. Established in 1928 and privately owned by its people, GHD’s network of 11,000+ specialists are connected across 200 offices located on five continents. www.ghd.com

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