The New Zealand government's climate change advisory body in 2021 recommended that new natural gas and LPG connections be phased out from 2026 as part of plans to reach net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050. The industry advocated for amendments to this proposal and now is working on its own objective to move to renewable LPG and potentially renewable dimethyl ether (rDME). Kevin Morrison spoke to Janet Carson, chief executive of the country's gas and LPG association, Gas NZ, about the industry's renewable plans.
How has the discussion about renewable LPG evolved over the past 12 months?
The Climate Change Commission (CCC) recommended 12 months ago that New Zealand ends new gas connections to homes and businesses by 2025. We put a lot of effort into countering that advice, and it was successful. The new recommendation is that the government will consider ending new gas connections at a certain time, but there will be no immediate cut-off. Since then, we have made more progress, with the energy minister Megan Woods talking about renewable gases and not just hydrogen.
What are the next steps in the transition to renewable alternatives?
We expect the government to release its emissions reduction plan in May, so we will find out whether renewable gases have made their way back onto the agenda. We have a goal to have renewable LPG as a material part of the New Zealand energy mix by 2030. By 2025, we want to start introducing renewable blends with LPG. We need to further define the pathway of getting there. It is more than a goal. We are also working with the World LPG Association to decarbonise LPG. We are spending a lot of time looking at global research and access pathways.
Are any regulatory changes required before renewable blends are sold?
We have to get technical standards for renewable LPG that could be blended with fossil LPG for space heating, stoves, hot water systems and BBQ bottles. Renewable LPG is part of a wider fuel strategy by the New Zealand government. We plan to have a biofuel mandate next year, and New Zealand is looking at developing a sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) sector, and renewable LPG will be part of that. But we are not counting on it being an easy fix.
What are the plans for renewable dimethyl ether (DME)?
We are looking at renewable DME for LPG decarbonisation in New Zealand and it is not because longer term it is going to be better or worse than renewable LPG. But as we want to implement something quickly as the most technologically advanced alternative at the moment. For the areas we are looking at, it ticks a lot of boxes.
What challenges does the industry face in its objective to decarbonise?
Decarbonising LPG is really important for New Zealand. We only produce natural gas in one part of the country — Taranaki on the west coast of the North Island. We cannot transport that to any part of the South Island, nor every part of the North Island. You can drive for around an hour out of the capital Wellington and you will be in small towns where there is no natural gas pipeline, so people rely on LPG, and this is the case for large parts of the country.
Is the Russia-Ukraine conflict affecting the New Zealand LPG sector?
I think we are going to see a fast-tracking of the energy transition [as a result of the conflict in Ukraine] and the emergence of a more diverse energy system to help deal with these future energy shocks.
