Changing Efficiencies in Petroleum Energy Use in New Zealand

The paper introduces the work of the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority relating to gas and petroleum usages, with the dual imperatives to gain technical and economic efficiencies; and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Factors inhibiting greater efficiency include current investments, competition for new investment capital, price structures, and public attitudes. The current usage of petroleum products is presented with trends in sectors. Current gas use, from our history of development, wastes resources and produces high carbon dioxide emissions. Alternative trends can gradually be imposed to improve efficiency and lower environmental effects. Particular opportunities are in substituting direct use of natural gas and cogeneration for gas-fired electricity generation. There is a continuing upward trend in transport fuel use. Changing utilisation efficiencies in various modes of transport are reviewed and compared with overseas trends. While some progress has been made, considerable further improvement is possible by implementing regulatory, behavioural, and technical changes. The rising diesel and petrol usage relating to CNG and LPG is of concern. Overall, improvements in energy efficiency in New Zealand do not compare well with most OECD countries, but there are some positive trends in a number of sectors. The scope for improved efficiencies in New Zealand from newer technologies is reviewed with respect to domestic, commercial, industry and transport sectors. Means are outlined for taking opportunities with today's technologies through changing attitudes, standards, improved design of buildings, improved industrial processes, and financial packaging.

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Thirty years of climate mitigation: lessons from the 1989 options appraisal for the UK

Energy Efficiency ◽

10.1007/s12053-021-09951-2 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (4) ◽

Author(s):

Eoin Lees ◽

Nick Eyre

Keyword(s):

Energy Efficiency ◽

Carbon Dioxide Emissions ◽

Energy Use ◽

Economic Assessment ◽

Climate Mitigation ◽

Low Carbon ◽

Renewable Electricity ◽

Mitigation Options ◽

Support Unit ◽

The Uk

AbstractIn April 1989, the UK Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, convened a full cabinet meeting on climate change addressed by leading scientists. The presentation on mitigation of carbon dioxide emissions was made by the Head of the Energy Technology Support Unit (ETSU), Ken Currie, and identified the key potential options for mitigation by 2020. In this paper, we compare the mitigation potential identified for each proposed option with the 2019 outturn. The largest mitigation options identified were improved end use energy efficiency across the economy and the generation and use of low carbon electricity. Our analysis finds that these have been the key options adopted. Reductions in primary energy use, resulting from improvements in energy efficiency were concentrated in the period 2005–2012 which in 1989 were widely considered to be ambitious. Decarbonisation of electricity has been achieved by the displacement of coal, initially by gas and more recently by renewable electricity. Renewable electricity has exceeded 1989 expectations in the last 5 years and is now the biggest source of CO2 reductions from electricity generation. The contribution envisaged by nuclear electricity has not occurred, largely due its failure to compete in liberalised generation markets. In all cases, the policy environment has been important. We draw lessons for mitigation options to achieve the goal of net zero emissions in the next 30 years. The contribution of demand side and other modular options will remain crucial, as mass-produced technologies tend to improve more quickly than those requiring large construction projects. Environmental, social and political factors will be important, so analysis should not be a purely techno-economic assessment.

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Household Energy Use in New Zealand: the Changing Role of Televisions

10.26686/wgtn.16992448 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

◽

Marion R Pahalawatta

Keyword(s):

Energy Efficiency ◽

New Zealand ◽

Energy Use ◽

Policy Design ◽

Information Communication ◽

Household Energy ◽

Current Trends ◽

Household Energy Use ◽

Energy Consumption Patterns ◽

Mitigate Climate Change

<p>Energy efficiency plays a major role in policies to mitigate climate change and to secure future energy supply. Understanding energy use behaviour and appliance energy use is vital to policy design. The drivers of energy use in household sector are complex. Households use energy for comfort, health and entertainment in contrast to, the uses of energy for making a profit in industrial and commercial sectors. As a part of this study a model was developed identifying the major drivers of household energy use. Household income and behaviour, house size, appliance technology and appliance energy efficiency are few factors that can influence household energy consumption patterns. Many OECD countries have managed to restrain traditional household energy end-uses such as space and water heating. However, IEA studies have indicated energy used by information, communication and entertainment appliances continue to increase. Television energy use was chosen for this study because it is widely used and operates together with many other associated appliances. This analysis draws from the New Zealand Television Energy Usage and Purchasing Survey to understand the current trends and patterns of television usage. The survey suggests television and associated appliance ownership and usage is increasing. Analysis draws from the survey to quantify TV energy use in New Zealand. This study illustrates how household behaviour, technology and size affects household energy use. The survey also demonstrate how households associate energy use with environmental impact. Some OECD data on household energy was used to analyse and contrast New Zealand’s patterns in a wider context.</p>

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Communicating About Clean Energy and Efficiency Policies

Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Climate Science ◽

10.1093/acrefore/9780190228620.013.435 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Matthew A. Shapiro ◽

Toby Bolsen ◽

Anna McCaghren Fleming

Keyword(s):

Energy Efficiency ◽

Public Opinion ◽

Energy Consumption ◽

Energy Use ◽

Field Experiments ◽

Clean Energy ◽

Household Energy ◽

Decision Making Processes ◽

Energy Efficiency And Conservation

Public opinion plays a central role in determining the feasibility of efforts to transform energy systems in the coming years, yet scholarship on communication effects and public opinion about clean energy and energy efficiency seems to have expanded only relatively recently. There is a growing body of work that explores how targeted and strategically framed messages affect individuals’ beliefs and motivations to act on matters affecting household energy choices as well as energy policies. One must attend particularly to the principal communication-based factors that shape the public’s understanding of clean energy sources and promote efficiencies in energy use. To better understand the communication vehicles for improving both household energy efficiency and conservation, two research foci are most relevant: (1) field experiments that primarily assess how household energy consumption shifts after receiving energy consumption reports and (2) surveys/laboratory experiments that focus on the nuances of energy-related communications, paying particular attention to the role of politics and ideology. This bimodal classification of clean energy and efficiency communication research genres is not exhaustive but can be synthesized into two major contributions. First, providing households with information about specific benefits that would result from a greater reliance on clean energy may increase support for its development and move individuals toward energy efficiency outcomes; however, exposure to counter-messages that emphasize costs associated with clean energy and the associated policies can negate the effects of pro-clean energy messages. Second, there is still no reprieve from the politicization of energy, and thus the role of partisanship and motivated reasoning must be accounted for when assessing how individuals modify their decision-making processes regarding energy efficiency.

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Household Energy Use in New Zealand: the Changing Role of Televisions

10.26686/wgtn.16992448.v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

◽

Marion R Pahalawatta

Keyword(s):

Energy Efficiency ◽

New Zealand ◽

Energy Use ◽

Policy Design ◽

Information Communication ◽

Household Energy ◽

Current Trends ◽

Household Energy Use ◽

Energy Consumption Patterns ◽

Mitigate Climate Change

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Energy Efficiency and Conservation

A Cubic Mile of Oil ◽

10.1093/oso/9780195325546.003.0018 ◽

2010 ◽

Author(s):

Hewitt Crane ◽

Edwin Kinderman ◽

Ripudaman Malhotra

Keyword(s):

Energy Efficiency ◽

Energy Conservation ◽

Energy Demand ◽

Energy Use ◽

Past Century ◽

The World ◽

Mode Of Transportation ◽

Save Energy ◽

Energy Efficiency And Conservation ◽

Different Sources

Previous chapters in this book focus on the production of energy from different sources and how we might increase the supply to meet the anticipated growth in demand. In this chapter we focus on options to manage the energy demand. There are many ways—other than complete avoidance of the use of goods or services that demand energy—by which we can “save” energy; actually, we are not saving but reducing the growth in the demand of energy. It is often convenient to think of savings arising from two categories: energy efficiency and energy conservation. Energy efficiency reduces the energy necessary to perform a desired task, and energy conservation includes all actions that avoid unnecessary use of energy. To use the automobile as an example, development of techniques that reduce the fuel needed to go from one place to another is an example of improved energy efficiency. Substituting the automobile with a more efficient mode of transportation or the avoidance of the activity entirely would be examples of energy conservation. Thoughtful use of both conservation and efficiency will be necessary if we are to achieve substantial reductions in our future energy use as individuals, nations, or the world as a whole. As discussed in chapter 4, the global energy use projected for 2050 under three scenarios with three differing growth rates ranges from a high of 9.4 CMO/yr to a low of 3.9 CMO/yr. Our recent energy use of approximately 3 CMO/yr (since 2000) is on a growth curve that follows the trajectory of the high-consumption scenario. Improvements in energy efficiency have of course been made steadily over the past century and will likely continue in the future. Much of that improvement has already been taken into account in arriving at the projections for future growth. The 2.6% annual growth in energy consumption has taken place notwithstanding steady improvements in efficiency. To bring the projected 2050 consumption down from more than 9 CMO, we will need savings that would not happen without a rededicated effort.

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The climate and health benefits from intensive building energy efficiency improvements

Science Advances ◽

10.1126/sciadv.abg0947 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 7 (34) ◽

pp. eabg0947

Author(s):

Kenneth T. Gillingham ◽

Pei Huang ◽

Colby Buehler ◽

Jordan Peccia ◽

Drew R. Gentner

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Energy Efficiency ◽

Air Quality ◽

Indoor Air Quality ◽

Indoor Air ◽

Carbon Dioxide Emissions ◽

Energy Use ◽

Building Energy ◽

The United States ◽

Building Energy Efficiency

Intensive building energy efficiency improvements can reduce emissions from energy use, improving outdoor air quality and human health, but may also affect ventilation and indoor air quality. This study examines the effects of highly ambitious, yet feasible, building energy efficiency upgrades in the United States. Our energy efficiency scenarios, derived from the literature, lead to a 6 to 11% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions and 18 to 25% reductions in particulate matter (PM2.5) emissions in 2050. These reductions are complementary with a carbon pricing policy on electricity. However, our results also point to the importance of mitigating indoor PM2.5 emissions, improving PM2.5 filtration, and evaluating ventilation-related policies. Even with no further ventilation improvements, we estimate that intensive energy efficiency scenarios could prevent 1800 to 3600 premature deaths per year across the United States in 2050. With further investments in indoor air quality, this can rise to 2900 to 5100.

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“To Make the Crooked Straight”: The Crippled Children Society in Southern New Zealand, 1935–2007

The Journal of New Zealand Studies ◽

10.26686/jnzs.v0ins28.5423 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Alexander Trapeznik

Keyword(s):

New Zealand ◽

Government Policy ◽

Public Attitudes ◽

First Century ◽

Voluntary Organization ◽

Charitable Organization ◽

Persons With Disabilities ◽

Early Twenty ◽

Professional Opinion ◽

History Of

This article examines the history of the New Zealand Crippled Children Society, focusing on the Dunedin branch and highlighting how this voluntary organization has evolved in relation to a widespread change in attitudes and policies towards disability in order to meet the changing needs of its consumers. While taking account of the historical and social context, this study examines the origins of the society in Dunedin in the 1930s and its initial aims as a charitable organization for children affected by polio. It then maps the progress and changes made by the society over time, concentrating on the major upheavals of the late 1980s and 1990s, up until the early twenty-first century which saw the implementation of the New Zealand Disability Strategy (2001) and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006) These show how the society adapted to changes in government policy, public attitudes and professional opinion while preserving its original ethos.

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