The Ministry of Business, Innovations and Employment (MBIE) released a discussion document in December 2019 seeking feedback on a number of proposals and options to encouraging energy efficiency and the uptake of renewable fuels in industry and accelerating renewable electricity generation and infrastructure.
There are 11 sections with the document included a number of initiatives recommended by the Productivity Commission and Interim Climate Change Committee such as Resource Management Act reform which the wind industry has long called for.
NZWEA in its submission focused on the key initiatives considered necessary to support renewables growth including:
- Reforming the ETS to reduce emissions and lift the carbon cost to promote abatement.
- Amend the National Policy Statement for Renewable Electricity Generation (NPS-REG) to provide stronger direction on the national importance of renewables.
- Finalising transmission and distribution pricing to provide investment certainty and revise HVDC pricing so as not to disadvantage South Island renewables development.
- Revise the draft NPS-IB to enable responsible renewables development.
- Revising the draft NPS-FM to ensure the value of existing hydro generation to NZ’s climate change objectives is given sufficient weight.
- Improve the availability of wholesale market information.
- Introduce mandatory market making obligations / improve wholesale markets.
- Revise the interpretation of the EA’s statutory objective.
- Phase out low fixed charge tariff regulations.
- Retail and distribution tariff reform.
- Scope National Environmental Standards or National Planning Standards specific to renewable energy.
- Review the legislative framework to give the EA more powers to regulate networks.
The Association’s submission can be viewed below:
The MBIE discussion document can be viewed below: