New Zealand's Renewable Energy Future


Eric Martinot is an adjunct professor and teaching fellow at Victoria University of Wellington and every March he teaches a 5-week Victoria University graduate course "Sustainable Energy" (ENVI529). See the course syllabus and reading list. The course should be offered annually, next time in March 2011, and is open to eligible professionals who are not full-time students. Below are the public presentations he made during March 2009, including the audio of a Radio NZ interview and the video of a public lecture.

(1) Public lecture (24 March 2009): "Renewable Energy for Climate Change Mitigation: How Much and How Fast?" Covers four topics: (1) Renewable energy situation globally -- markets, industry, policies; (2) Global scenarios for renewable energy and carbon mitigation; (3) Low-carbon transport: electric vehicles, energy storage, and "smart grids"; and (4) Technologies, policies and transitions for NZ -- how far and how fast? Sponsored by the Climate Change Research Institute of Victoria University's Institute of Policy Studies (IPS).

(2) Radio NZ interview on renewable energy on the Nine-to-Noon program with Kathryn Ryan, 23 March 2009 (30 minutes; MP3; 11.5 MB).

(3) Public lecture (1 April 2009): "Renewable Energy for Cities: Opportunities, Policies, and Visions." Includes the same material as the 24 March 2009 public lecture above, plus additional slides on city policies for renewable energy, and further research, including a status report on local renewable energy policies worldwide. Sponsored by the NZ Centre for Sustainable Cities at the University of Otago, the Institute of Policy Studies at Victoria University of Wellington, and ICLEI-NZ Local Governments for Sustainability (with thanks also to ICLEI-Europe).

  • Audio of Presentation (forthcoming)
  • Presentation Slides (PDF; 0.4 MB; contains just the slides on cities that were added to the collection of slides from the 24 March 2009 public lecture above; see both presentation files together for the full set.)


SOME RECENT LITERATURE ON NEW ZEALAND'S RENEWABLE ENERGY FUTURE

Future Currents: Electricity Scenarios for New Zealand 2005-2050 (2005), Parliamentary Commission for the Environment (Wellington), 96 pp.

Restructuring of the New Zealand Electricity Sector, 1984-2005 (2006), Geoff Bertram, in International experience in restructured electricity markets: What works, what does not, and why?, edited by Sioshansi FP and Pfaffenberger W (Amsterdam: Elsevier), pp. 203-234.

New Zealand Energy Strategy to 2050 -- Powering Our Future (2007), New Zealand Ministry of Economic Development (Wellington), 107 pp.

Making Energy Work: A Sustainable Energy Future for New Zealand (2007), Christina Hood and Colin James (Wellington: Victoria University Institute of Policy Studies), 94 pp.

New Zealand Energy Revolution: How to Prevent Climate Chaos (2007), Greenpeace Aotearoa/New Zealand, Greenpeace International, and European Renewable Energy Council (Auckland: Greenpeace Aotearoa/New Zealand), 63 pp.

Transitioning to Low-Carbon Urban Form and Transport in New Zealand (2008), Ralph Chapman, Political Science 60 (June), pp. 89-98.

New Zealand Sustainable Energy Forum Conference Presentations 1999-2008. An on-going series of conferences on sustainable energy for New Zealand, with many presentations available on-line.


Page updated April 3, 2009