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Glossary


New Zealand Energy Strategy to 2050 – Powering Our Future

[ Last Updated 18 October 2007 ]


Within this section…

APEC ESIS
APEC Energy Standards and Information Systems project.
Biodiesel
Diesel fuel derived from plant or animal sources.
Bioethanol
A form of alcohol derived from plant or animal sources. May be blended in low concentrations with petrol and used in conventional petrol vehicles, or used in higher concentrations in specially modified petrol vehicles.
Biofuels
Any (generally liquid) fuel derived from plant or animal sources, including biodiesel.
Biomass
Any (generally solid) organic matter that is available on a renewable or recurring basis, including dedicated energy crops and trees, agricultural food and feed crop residues, wood and wood wastes, animal wastes and other waste materials.
Business as usual
"Business as usual" is used in New Zealand's Energy Outlook to 2030 as a neither optimistic nor pessimistic view of New Zealand's energy future. Business as usual can be forecast with the least number of controversial assumptions about how the world will change in the future, with the additional advantage that it can be used to gauge the impact of actual and/or possible policy actions.
BSO
Biofuels Sales Obligation
Carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide, or CO2, is a naturally occurring gas, and also a by-product of burning fossil fuels and biomass, as well as of land-use changes and other industrial processes. It is the most important man-made greenhouse gas.
Carbon neutrality
Zero net emissions. Practical emissions reductions are to be made with remaining emissions offset through carbon sinks or other emissions reduction projects.
Carbon sequestration
Any process for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. May be natural (such as forests) or artificial (see CCS above).
CC
Commerce Commission.
CCS or carbon capture and storage
A technology under which carbon dioxide is extracted from the flue gases of power plants or industrial facilities and injected back into geological structures, such as depleted oil and gas reservoirs, unminable coal beds, or deep saline aquifers.
Climate change
Increasing industrialisation and human activity (such as industry, agriculture and transportation) are increasing the amount of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere and causing Earth not only to heat up, but to heat up at an unprecedented rate. This effect is known as global warming. Since this warming will also affect our weather patterns and climatic conditions, we refer to it as climate change.
CO2-e or CO2-equivalent
Measures the combined climate changing potential of emissions of multiple greenhouse gases. Emissions of each gas are converted to an amount of CO2 that would cause the same climate change impact and summed.
CCGT or combined-cycle gas turbine
A gas turbine whose exhaust is used to heat a boiler, allowing generators to be driven by both a gas turbine and a steam turbine.
CNG
Compressed natural gas.
Consumer energy
The amount of energy used by consumers, excluding energy used or lost in the process of transforming primary energy into other forms – such as electricity – and transporting it.
Cost curve
A graphical representation relationship between the cost and quantity of a good or service.
Cost effective
Utilising a specified amount of money in a way that delivers the largest benefits from all available alternative uses (minimises opportunity cost).
DBH
Department of Building and Housing.
Distributed generation
Any electricity generation facility that produces electricity for use at the point of location, or supplies electricity to other consumers through a local lines distribution network.
EC or Electricity Commission
A Crown entity established under the Electricity Act to oversee New Zealand's electricity industry and markets.
Economic potential
For the purposes of the NZEECS, economic potential is the fraction of overall technical potential that can theoretically be realised in the market based on cost-benefit analysis and assuming full uptake rates.
EECA or Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority
EECA's role is to encourage, promote and support energy efficiency, energy conservation and the use of renewable energy sources in accordance with the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Act 2000.
EIRA
Electricity Industry Reform Amendment Act, currently being introduced by government.
Electricity system
The electricity system comprises electricity generation, transmission, distribution and consumption.
Energy efficiency
Any measure of the ratio of useful energy services to energy input. For the purposes of the NZEECS, energy efficiency is defined by the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Act 2000 as a change to energy use that results in an increase in net benefits per unit of energy used.
Energy productivity
Gross domestic product per unit of energy – the inverse of economic energy intensity. It can be specified at an economy-wide level or at a sector level.
Energy security
Energy security has two key dimensions, reliability and resilience. Reliability means users are able to access the energy services they require, when they require them. Resilience is the ability of the system to cope with shocks and change.
Energy system
An energy system includes all forms of energy (such as electricity, transport fuel and direct uses) and all aspects of the process that takes energy from producers or generators and transports that energy to the final consumers.
Environmental sustainability
A movement towards redesigning the ways society's needs and wants are met so that they can be accommodated within the long-term carrying capacity of the environment.
ETG
Emissions Trading Group.
ETS or Emissions Trading Scheme
An emissions trading scheme creates a responsibility for a defined group of emitters to hold tradeable units or allowances to match some or all of their greenhouse gas emissions over a defined period. Entities subject to the scheme are able to either reduce their own emissions or trade units or allowances to meet their obligations.
Externality
Occurs when an action impacts on parties (either negatively or positively) not directly involved in the activity and these impacts are not reflected in the cost or price of the goods or services being produced.
Fossil fuels
Coal, natural gas, LPG, crude oil and fuels derived from crude oil, including petrol and diesel. They are fossil fuels because they have been formed over long periods of time from ancient organic matter.
FRST
Foundation for Research, Science and Technology.
GIC
Gas Industry Company.
GPS or Government Policy Statement
The GPS on Electricity Governance sets out the objectives and outcomes that the government wants the Electricity Commission to give effect to. It is made under section 172ZK of the Electricity Act.
Greenhouse gas pricing
Placing a value on greenhouse gas emissions (e.g. through a carbon tax or emissions trading system), which internalises the environmental cost of the emissions and creates an incentive for actions to reduces such emissions.
Greenhouse gases
Atmospheric gases that retain more energy from outgoing infra-red radiation than from incoming solar radiation. Man-made greenhouse gases include carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (NO). Nearly half of New Zealand's total emissions are produced by agriculture, predominantly methane from farm animals and nitrous oxide from soils and fertilisers. However, the principal growth in New Zealand's emissions comes from increased carbon dioxide (CO2), primarily from the energy sector. Most of this increase has come from transport and electricity generation.
ICV
Internal combustion vehicle.
IEA or International Energy Agency
The IEA is an autonomous body within the OECD based in Paris. It was established in 1974 following the first oil crisis (in 1973) and in response to the enhanced power of OPEC (Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries).
Incentive
An inducement for a firm or an individual to behave in a way that is consistent with their own best interests.
IPHE
International Partnership for the Hydrogen Economy.
Intermittent
Renewable electricity generation that is dependant on resource availability that may vary over time. For example, wind and wave generation is intermittent.
IRD
Inland Revenue Department.
Kyoto Protocol
A 1997 international agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to address climate change, which sets greenhouse gas emission targets for developed countries.
LCET
Low carbon energy technology.
LFC regulations
Low fixed charge tariff option for domestic consumers.
Lignite
A low grade brown or soft coal that burns less efficiently, producing particulates and more greenhouse gas emissions than high-quality coals.
LNG or liquefied natural gas
Natural gas that has been converted to a liquid by chilling it to extremely low temperatures. Natural gas is frequently moved by ship in the form of LNG.
Low carbon
To minimise carbon dioxide emissions from a human activity.
LPG or liquefied petroleum gas
Consists of propane (60 percent) and butane (about 40 percent). LPG is a gas at room temperature, but is a liquid under pressure.
Marine energy
Energy generated from forces in the marine environment such as tidal and wave energy.
Market barriers to energy efficiency
Features of the market for energy services that are thought to prevent uptake of existing opportunities to use energy more efficiently.
Maui contract gas
Gas from the Maui field that is produced under a 'take or pay' contract with the Crown at a fixed price that tends to be lower than the market price for natural gas.
MCA
Ministry of Consumer Affairs.
MED
Ministry of Economic Development, which has led development of the NZES.
MEPS
Minimum Energy Performance Scheme.
MfE
Ministry for the Environment.
MoRST
Ministry of Research, Science and Technology.
MOT
Ministry of Transport.
National Environmental Standard
Central government regulation under the RMA of activities that affect the environment, which overrides the rules that are contained in the district and regional plans of local government.
National grid
The national grid delivers electricity throughout the country, using a network of transmission lines, substations and a control system that matches generation to demand. See www.transpower.co.nz
NERI
National Energy Research Institute.
NGOCP
Nationial Gas Outage Contingency Plan.
NIWA
National Institute for Water and Atmospheric Research.
NPS or National Policy Statement
A document issued by the Minister for the Environment under the RMA, which affects the way natural and physical resources are managed in relation to a matter of national significance. Local authorities must change their district and regional plans to give effect to these national objectives and policies.
NZEECS or New Zealand Energy Efficiency and Conservation Strategy
The NZEECS is developed by EECA in conjunction with the Ministry for the Environment and sets the agenda for government programmes to promote greater energy efficiency, energy conservation and the use of renewable energy across the economy in accordance with the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Act.
NZES
New Zealand Energy Strategy.
NZTS
New Zealand Transport Strategy.
OPEC
Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries.
OCGT or open-cycle gas turbine
An open-cycle gas turbine extracts energy from a flow of hot gas produced by combustion of gas in a stream of compressed air. The exhaust gas (mostly normal air) is not used again, but transferred to the environment for cooling.
Peak oil
The term used to describe the point when worldwide production of conventional crude oil peaks in volume, which is expected to result in an increase in oil prices from a decline in the availability of cheap and easily accessible oil sources.
Petajoule
Energy can be measured in joules. The joule is the international unit of energy. A petajoule = 1015 (one quadrillion) joules. It is the unit most often used to measure energy production and use on a national scale. One petajoule is roughly equivalent to:
  • all the electricity used in Nelson in a year
  • a coastal tanker load of 25,000,000 litres of oil
  • over 10 days' output from the Huntly power station at full capacity.

Photovoltaic
A solar energy technology that uses semiconductor materials to convert sunlight directly into electricity.
PHEV or plug-in hybrid electic vehicle
A vehicle powered by a combination of petrol and electricity.
Policy measures
Actions developed to address a perceived problem or further a government objective. Can include regulatory, fiscal or information-based tools.
Primary energy
Energy as it is first obtained from natural sources. Does not include electricity or refined petroleum products.
Projects to Reduce Emissions
A government programme providing Kyoto Protocol carbon credits to projects that will reduce New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions during the Kyoto Protocol's first commitment period (2008–2012).
Realisable potential
Realisable potential is the fraction of overall technical and economic potential that can actually be realised in the market, including the new expanded market potential that the strategy is expected to realise.
Renewable energy
A form of energy that can be produced indefinitely without depletion, including solar, wind, hydro, biomass, tidal, wave and ocean current sources. Geothermal energy is considered renewable, although geothermal fields can be depleted if fluids are extracted at a higher rate than they are replenished.
REEEP
Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership.
RMA
The Resource Management Act 1991, which regulates the use of New Zealand's regional natural resources.
Smart meters
A smart meter can track how much electricity a consumer uses and when it is used. Smart meters can send/receive data, i.e. sending usage data to an electricity company.
Stationary energy
All energy production and consumption including electricity and direct uses of energy for heating and industrial processes but excluding transport.
Technology taker
An entity that receives technology developed elsewhere and adapts that technology for its own needs rather than independently developing a unique technology for itself.
TRST
Transformational areas of research, science and technology.
Watt
Energy can be measured in watts. A watt is the unit of power, which is the amount of work done or energy transferred in a unit of time. A megawatt (MW) is one million watts. It is the standard unit for electricity generation capacity. One megawatt of capacity is enough to supply the peak electricity needs of about 500 households. New Zealand's largest power station at Huntly has a capacity of 1,000 MW.
Watt hour
A gigawatt-hour (GWh) is one billion watts of power over an hour. It is the standard unit for measuring electricity production on a national scale. The 1,000 megawatt (1 gigawatt) Huntly power station running at full capacity for one hour would produce a gigawatt-hour of electricity. Total annual electricity production in New Zealand is about 40,000 GWh.
Wholesale electricity market
A computerised trading system enabling electricity purchasers, including retailers and large power users, to buy electricity from generators. It includes a half-hourly spot market, longer-term contract markets, and security and reserves markets.

New Zealand's energy flows for the 2006 calendar year

Diagram scaled approximately to nearest 10 PJ. Other uses of less than 2.5 PJ per annum and stock changes are excluded. "Other renewables" includes solar water heating and electricity generation from wind, biogas and wood.

New Zealand's energy flows for the 2006 calendar year

→ Full size version of New Zealand's energy flows for the 2006 calendar year [62 kB GIF]


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