Total Utilities is proud to announce its latest venture in the renewable energy market: expanding the sale of unbundled Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) through a partnership with Lodestone Energy.
This collaboration underscores Total Utilities’ commitment to sustainability and its dedication to providing innovative energy solutions to a broader customer base, both now and into the future.
RECs authenticate the production and consumption of renewable energy. They enable businesses and individuals to offset the carbon associated with electricity consumption and support the development of new renewable energy projects, without directly utilising the energy at the source.
Positioning for Growth in REC Market
Already established as a prominent player in the renewable energy sector, Total Utilities is now strategically positioned to meet the increasing demand for RECs and sustainable energy solutions through its partnership with Lodestone Energy.
Jonathan Gardiner, Managing Director of Total Utilities explains, “We’re excited to partner with Lodestone to expand and enhance our renewable energy offerings. This partnership builds upon our existing relationships with partners such as Pioneer Energy, to meet the evolving needs of our clients.
“By integrating Lodestone into our network of REC partners, we are better equipped to address the growing demand for sustainable solutions.”
Funding Solar development
Jonathan emphasises how purchasing RECs supplied by Lodestone through Total Utilities will contribute directly to the development of solar energy in New Zealand: “Lodestone Energy recently launched the first grid-scale solar farm in Kaitaia. By purchasing RECs supplied by them, our clients can play a pivotal role in funding further solar developments by Lodestone at that scale, directly contributing to New Zealand’s sustainability efforts.”
Furthermore, the partnership with Lodestone Energy opens up opportunities for Total Utilities to explore new avenues of renewable energy development and expand its portfolio of sustainable energy solutions.
By leveraging Lodestone’s expertise and resources, Total Utilities aims to enhance its ability to meet the diverse needs of its clients and stay at the forefront of the renewable energy industry.
Making a Meaningful Impact
“For businesses looking to make a meaningful impact on sustainability and support the growth of renewable energy in New Zealand, Total Utilities’ expanded offerings of RECs provide a valuable opportunity.”
“By partnering with Total Utilities and purchasing RECs supplied by Lodestone Energy, businesses can demonstrate their commitment to environmental stewardship and can directly assist in bringing new renewable generation energy projects into the New Zealand market” Jonathan adds.
For more information about Total Utilities’ expanded renewable energy offerings and its partnership with Lodestone Energy, contact us today.
Total Utilities has taken a pioneering step towards fostering sustainable energy by spearheading the landmark collaboration between Manawa Energy and Southern Spars, an iconic New Zealand company known for its cutting-edge marine spars and rigging.
The project primarily revolved around Total Utilities managing Southern Spars electricity Request for Proposal (RFP) while working in tandem with the selected energy provider, Manawa Energy.
While Southern Spars has been a longstanding procurement client of Total Utilities, this particular energy review was unique as it marked a departure from traditional services and encompassed additional negotiation concerning New Zealand Energy Certificates (NZECS, formally known as renewable energy certificates or RECs).
With a strong sustainability focus, Manawa Energy aimed to complement Southern Spars’ electricity supply with NZECS, presenting an exciting opportunity for Southern Spars to become the inaugural client of Manawa Energy’s Energy Certificate program.
NZ-ECs are tradable certificates, tracking and authenticating the production and consumption of renewable energy. They enable businesses or individuals to reduce the reported carbon emissions associated with their electricity consumption, and support bringing new renewable energy production online, without the need to consume it directly at source.
BraveTrace, which operates the NZECS (New Zealand Energy Certificate System), validates that the electricity consumed by Southern Spars is accurately matched and verified against the renewable electricity produced by Manawa Energy.
Bridging the Gap: Total Utilities’ Innovative Solutions
However, a challenge emerged for Manawa Energy: their equipment required certification before providing NZECS to Southern Spars, while Southern Spars’ current electricity contract was nearing its end. Total Utilities was able to step in to bridge this supply gap by providing third party NZECS until Manawa Energy was able to assume full supply.
“As an early participant in BraveTrace’s (previously Certified Energy) NZ Energy Certificate System, Total Utilities can act as an independent NZECS broker,” explained Total Utilities’ Manager Director, Jonathan Gardiner.
“Total Utilities facilitated NZECS transactions, ensuring uninterrupted energy supply while accommodating timing constraints. Our bridging contracts provided a temporary solution, enabling Southern Spars to transition smoothly to renewable energy procurement from the commencement of the new contract,” he added.
BraveTrace’s new CEO, Shaun Goldsbury, enthusiastically celebrates this major collaboration, “Manawa Energy is one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s largest renewable energy generators and we are delighted to welcome them to the BraveTrace network.
“We are particularly proud of our longstanding relationship with Total Utilities and the exceptional support they have provided to Southern Spars in advancing sustainability practices in the sailing world.”
Through careful coordination, Total Utilities managed the NZECS exchange between Manawa Energy and Southern Spars, ensuring the partnership progressed seamlessly.
Manawa Energy has since registered the Kaimai hydroelectric power scheme as a production device and was able to meet Southern Spars’ needs for the 2024 production year.
The Kaimai scheme is significant in Manawa Energy’s generation portfolio as it not only provides renewable electricity to the Bay of Plenty, but also opens up a superb, accessible recreation area popular for fishing, kayaking, picnicking and running.
Water is released through the Lake McLaren Dam up to 26 days a year, providing high flows for white water kayakers from the Kaimai Canoe Club, and local white water rafting businesses.
Navigating complex utility landscapes
“This partnership underscores our dedication to sustainability and innovation,” emphasised Jonathan. “We’re committed to overcoming obstacles and driving progress in utility management.”
It was a great project to work on, and we thoroughly enjoyed the problem-solving discussions with George Anyon at Southern Spars and Glenn Webley at Manawa Energy. “All three parties had to think creatively and flexibly to get the job done,” he added.
Total Utilities’ successful collaboration underscores its ability to navigate complex utility management landscapes. As the industry evolves, it remains at the forefront, leading the charge toward a more sustainable future.
For more information about Total Utilities and their sustainable initiatives, contact us today.
Total Utilities Management Group is excited to announce our registration on the ‘New Zealand Energy Certificate System (NZECS)’ – enabling our clients to support renewable generation and reduce their reportable emissions. Administered and developed by BraveTrace, NZECS allows energy consumers to offset their reportable electricity related greenhouse gas emissions and support renewable energy by buying New Zealand Energy Certificates (NZ-ECs) to redeem against their consumption.What are New Zealand Energy Certificates (NZ-ECs)?NZ-ECs show how and when energy was generated, and from where. This information is referred to as a ‘generation attribute.’ NZ-ECs can be traded and transferred from electricity generators to electricity retailers, who can ultimately sell these certificates to energy consumers. Through the purchase of a certificate, a consumer ‘reserves’ that unit of generation as their own – enabling them to make a clear statement about the type of electricity that they support. This means that Total Utilities can now act as an independent broker of NZ-ECs and can buy and trade certificates on behalf of our customers to support them to invest in 100% renewable energy. Certificates can be used to report zero-carbon electricity usage in accredited Greenhouse Gas Reporting Programmes and are a competitively priced alternative to carbon offsets that also offer the potential for greater impact. By using Total Utilities as your independent broker for NZ-ECs, you can also be assured of straightforward, flexible contract terms – regardless of whether your energy use is big or small.
Fully Transparent ReportingNew Zealand is a relatively late adopter of a system of tradable energy certificates. Certificates create supply chain transparency with the attributes of each certificate outlining energy generation source, age of the generator and whether or not the generator is certified net zero carbon.Electricity purchased directly from the grid in New Zealand comes from sources which are on average 80% renewable, however, depending on where and when it is purchased, the actual makeup of energy being delivered can vary sharply. This means that up until now, consumers of electricity had no way to link their consumption directly with a renewable generator.BraveTrace’s NZ Energy Certificate System changes all this…NZ-ECs prove that purchased energy is directly tied to a 100% renewable energy generator. They also allow energy consumers to report zero related greenhouse gas emissions and thus, to invest in a sustainable future for New Zealand.NZ-ECs not only provide a fully transparent method of reporting, but also incentivise generators of renewable energy, who can sell their energy certificates on the open market. Total Utilities currently manages around half a billion dollars per year of utility contracts on behalf of our clients and sustainability has become a major strategic objective for many of these businesses. We are fully committed to assisting our clients move towards 100% renewable energy, helping them in their journey towards net zero emissions. Total Utilities Managing Director, Jonathan Gardiner, reacts to our registration on NZECS…“We thrive on energy competition, and our registration as a participant in the New Zealand certificate market allows our customers to get the best of both worlds – full energy market competition, and quick sustainability wins with New Zealand Energy Certificates.“By choosing to only offer NZ-ECs from suppliers which meet the strict Toitū Envirocare compliance criteria, our clients can report zero-carbon electricity usage in accredited GHG programmes, be part of New Zealand’s renewable energy future and meet carbon reduction targets.“Electricity is a major cost and driver of emissions for many of our clients, so providing an independent service to negotiate energy supply contracts along with NZ-ECs means our clients can choose to take energy supply from any retailer whilst also meeting their sustainability goals. “The certificates help create a circular economy as sellers of certificates are required to invest the revenue they earn from certificates in new renewable generation or decarbonisation projects. Purchasers of certificates are investing in a sustainable future for New Zealand.” “By being amongst the first NZ-based participants to register on Certified Energy’s NZ Energy Certificate System, Total Utilities underlines our commitment to providing customers with the most powerful tools in their journey towards adopting renewable energy sources and moving towards net zero emissions.”
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Businesses need to get the best possible pricing and contract terms for utilities such as water, power and rubbish collection.
But once costs are minimised, improved utilisation becomes critical to extracting greater value. A formal, independent audit process is the best way of identifying quick wins.
Why perform an audit now?
In the past two years the waste services marketplace has experienced aggressive price-cutting by major suppliers. Now they are differentiating themselves with srvice offerings, and their customers need to understand how.
In recent months two vertically integrated suppliers have signalled their intention to emphasise value-added recycling and waste minimisation processes over price-cutting, going forward. Other suppliers of waste services that don’t possess their own landfills are using waste audit services as a point of difference, to avoid getting dragged into a price-cutting battle they will struggle to win.
The most efficient money-savers
Business customers will save more money by sending less waste to the rubbish dump (landfill) than they will from a reduction in the price of waste services.
From a supplier’s standpoint, waste audits are costly, requiring staff time and data analysis, with capital outlays often the consequence of the resulting recommendations. Waste audits are also self-defeating for those in the business of collecting and burying rubbish.
As we have been working with businesses to reduce their waste quantities and bin movements, as well as negotiate new commercial contracts on their behalf, we have observed the following potential pitfalls:
Staff training: New waste-handling process may require either specialised staff training or socialising of new ideas. This entails additional cost, and the purported benefits may be predicated on unrealistic assumptions.
Staff buy-in: Change needs to be adopted from the top down, however, if staff aren’t on board with a new process, you could be charged for specialist one-off disposal of spoiled recyclables should waste not be accurately sorted. It is thus important to ascertain the time pressures on your staff before a new initiative is accepted.
Hospitality customers are a happy hunting ground for waste diversion suggestions given that their raw materials often come in recyclable packaging, and food waste streams result. However, this industry is fundamentally deadline-focussed, and staff are less likely to worry about what goes in a particular bin when there are orders backing up. A suggestion to save money on waste may thus end up costing you more in staff time.
Spread the message and keep it current: Ensure you spread the waste diversion message beyond a small number of staff. This has cropped up in the education sector where a particular year/age group might push hard for an improved process, but the next year is more apathetic. A few years later a similar set of failed initiatives will be suggested by an enthusiastic set of newcomers, unaware of what was previously attempted.
Audit waste expenditure
Challenge current processes and the underpinning assumptions with an audit review process. The terms and conditions of certain supply agreements prohibit your engaging competing waste service suppliers for such reviews. This serves the interests of your incumbent supplier, whilst limiting the breadth of ideas and potential technologies available.
The Commerce Commission moved in 2015 to limit unfair contract terms, which cause an imbalance in parties’ rights in consumer contracts. Although the intention is to focus on the non-commercial sector, energy retailers have begun rolling out more end-user friendly terms to business customers.
It is our hope that the relevant waste industry participants will adopt a similar position to allow for a greater spread of waste minimisation ideas.
Waste diversion reduces cost
Other than the obvious desire to limit landfill refuse, to extend the life of these expensive assets and minimise resource wastage, there are currently obvious financial pay offs in diverting waste. These are likely to grow in future, either with a change of Government, or with a change in Government focus.
A waste levy of $10 per tonne is already in place to help reduce the amount of waste New Zealanders generate, but the levy is set at a level 10 times below that of some of New Zealand’s regular trading partners. In addition, the Emissions Trading Scheme covers methane emitted from landfills, but only for every second tonne at present.
Energy-savings initiatives by business are hampered by relatively low energy-pricing, and the same sort of thinking will undoubtedly apply with regard to waste services. However, given the current level of these charges vis-à-vis our international trading partners, we recommend business remediates as much as possible now rather than face higher costs in the future.
With the components of your waste services charges unlikely to fall any lower, diverting waste from landfill such as with increased recycling, is the best way to unlock additional savings and insulate your business from potential cost blowouts in future.
Jonathan Gardiner is a Director of Total Utilities.
Hospitality customers are a happy hunting ground for waste diversion suggestions given that their raw materials often come in recyclable packaging, and food waste streams result. However, this industry is fundamentally deadline-focussed, and staff are less likely to worry about what goes in a particular bin when there are orders backing up. A suggestion to save money on waste may thus end up costing you more in staff time.