KEY POINTS:
New electricity generation should come as far as possible from renewable sources, the Government says.
If New Zealand continued on its present course, by 2030 emissions from the energy sector of the greenhouse gases blamed for global warming would be 30 per cent higher than they are now, says Energy Minister David Parker.
"And that is neither economically nor environmentally responsible," he said yesterday, releasing the Government's energy strategy.
It is a discussion document only, with more questions than answers.
But the direction is clear: emitters of greenhouse gases are likely to face a policy of polluter pays.
There will be cost for emissions, where now there is none, and the Government has a preference for that cost to be set by a market, rather than a tax or regulatory imposts.
National's new "bluegreen" policy is similar.
In the electricity sector the Government believes a lot of potential renewable sources - wind, geothermal and hydro - would be cheaper than power from gas-fired plants, even without a cost on carbon emissions.
Generation from coal, imported liquefied natural gas and nuclear energy are all but ruled out as too costly. But opinions on costs differ.
The official view is close to that of Meridian Energy chief executive Keith Turner. But his counterparts at Genesis Energy, Murray Jackson, and Contact Energy, David Baldwin, say the Government is underestimating the cost of wind power.
More power from renewable sources would not mean consumers would escape higher power bills.
The way the electricity market works, the most expensive power needed to meet demand in any given half-hour sets the price all generators get. Often that is a gas-burning plant.
Security of supply 'paramount'
Mr Parker stresses that the preference for renewables cannot compromise security of electricity supply, which is paramount.
At the moment about 30 per cent of the country's electricity comes from fossil fuels. The proportion has been rising.
But back in 1980, 90 per cent was from renewables, Mr Parker said.
"Thermal generation is important and will remain so for quite a long time.
"If it was not for e3p [Genesis's new gas-fired plant due to come on stream early next year] we would be nervous about next winter."
Beyond 2012 the Government envisages a price on emissions applying to the electricity sector and broadly across the economy, including transport and agriculture.
But such a policy is likely to be conditional on not significantly hurting the international competitiveness of key producers.
The energy strategy has little that is new on transport in the short term.
Transport measures under consideration include requiring fuel economy information on vehicles at the point of sale, improving the quality of diesel to the standard required by modern diesel cars and imposing a fuel economy target on the importers of new, and perhaps imported, vehicles.
A Government-industry body will be set up to look at the feasibility of increasing the target for biofuels from the present one of 2.25 per cent by 2012.
Greens co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimons said although the issues in transport were more intractable in terms of technology, the sector was a much more significant source of emissions than the electricity sector and growing fast.
She applauded the principles and goals of the strategy. "But I don't see a lot there to make it happen."
For example, Contact and Genesis have plans to build extra gas-fired power stations, at Otahuhu and Rodney respectively, and Mighty River Power is seeking consent to fire up Marsden B on coal.
"There is no proposal here that says to any one of those, 'Thou shalt not be built'. Yet if they go ahead there will be no room for renewables."
Other parts of the climate change policy are also due before Christmas, including a revamped energy efficiency and conservation strategy, and proposals on sustainable land management.
A long black, thanks - and a quick recharge
David Parker's green vision includes driving electric cars that we recharge at home or at a cafe while enjoying a cup of coffee.
A keen admirer of electric vehicles, Mr Parker is convinced that within five years there will be many of them in the commuter fleet.
"As you go along the motorway, rather than seeing service stations, you might have a cafe where you stop for a cup of coffee for 20 minutes while your car recharges," Mr Parker said.
The speed bump in his plan is the fact that the electric vehicles he points to have a range now of just 150km before they need to be recharged.
That would mean stopping four times while driving from Wellington to Auckland - adding at least 80 minutes to the journey.
Conceding that such a trip might not be palatable to people who regularly drove long distances, Mr Parker said families with two cars were probably most likely to go electric.
"I think there will be lots of people who want to do this because they're cheaper to run, and they're good environmentally."
People could have car chargers at home, but Mr Parker wants to avoid us all plugging our cars in at a time of peak electricity use.
So-called smart meters could be used to recharge the cars overnight.
So will the energy and climate change minister be ditching his big Holden in favour of a little electric Mitsubishi? "I will replace my car with something more efficient. I'm one of those people, I'm ashamed to say, [who] tows a caravan at Christmas to the river," he said yesterday..
"It'll be horses for courses really. But certainly if I had a second car, and I don't have a second car, I would be one of the first people to have an electric car as a second car."
- Paula Oliver
WHAT'S ON THE GOVERNMENT WISH LIST
More wind and wave power, less coal and gas
* The Government could set limits on the amount of carbon dioxide produced by electricity generators.
* This should make it more expensive to run coal or gas-fired power stations - and relatively cheap to operate wind or wave power.
* It is also likely to drive up power bills because electricity companies use coal and gas to meet extra demand.
Clampdown on gas guzzlers
* Car imports would have to meet a fuel-efficiency standard.
* Importers who bring in bigger gas-guzzling cars will be forced to import more fuel-efficient ones as well.
Electric cars
* More cars would run on alternative fuels, such as electricity or biofuels.
* Plug-in electric cars are not expected to be available for another five years.
Biofuel cars
* Biofuels are mostly vegetable oils or animal fats, blended with petrol or diesel.
* The main source of biofuel in New Zealand is tallow, which comes from meat fats. Studies suggest that mixing treated tallow with diesel could save up to 5 per cent on New Zealand's annual diesel bill.
What do you think of the energy strategy?
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