The COP26 summit brought governments together in Sept 2021 to discuss accelerated actions towards the goals of the Paris Agreement (2015), which is an international treaty signed by 196 participating member states at COP21 in Paris, 2015. It aims to keep the global average temperature at ‘well below’ 2 degrees above pre-industrial levels, ideally 1.5 degrees, to strengthen the ability to adapt to climate change, and build resilience; align all finance flows with, ‘a pathway towards low greenhouse gas emissions, and climate-resilient development’.
New Zealand has signed up to United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and as a signatory to the agreement we have to commit Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) to climate action. Our first NDC saw us committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 30% below 2005 levels by 2030. However this was refreshed at the summit to increase our commitment to reduce emissions by 50% at 2030, compared to 2005 levels.
One of COP26 objectives is to phase out coal. The current Government has already committed to removing coal as a fuel source from our economy. A ban on new coal boilers used in manufacturing and production will come into effect by 31st December 2021 and phasing out existing coal boilers by 2027.
A further option proposed is to prohibit other new fossil fuel boilers (gas, LPG) where suitable alternative technology exists and is economically viable.
The key instrument that will be used to foster a move to a low carbon economy will be the emissions trading scheme (ETS), and a series of changing emissions budgets. An emissions budget seeks to limit greenhouse gases that can be emitted over a period of time.These changing budgets are spread over three key periods: 2022-2025, 2026-2030 and 2031-2035. This will reduce the quantity of Government-issued New Zealand Carbon Units. As these quantities reduce, the cost of carbon will be increased.
When the emissions trading scheme (ETS) was first introduced, the price of carbon was fixed at $25 per tonne; however, there was a 2 for one surrender ratio meaning that for every tonne emitted, only half a tonne was surrendered, making the effective price $12.50/tonne.
Over time the market caps have been lifted, and emitters have moved to a one for one surrender ratio. In the last two years, the Government introduced a floor and ceiling in the market: $20 floor and $50 ceiling. This year, prices were raised to make the minimum price $30/tonne and ceiling price $70/tonne. The ceiling will be increased by 10% per year plus inflation.
The below table covers current carbon spot pricing and New Zealand Unit (NZU) future pricing with a view on where carbon prices could go out to in 2030. This is the cost that relates to the gas field producing natural gas or the electricity generator producing electricity. For gas customers who are Time of Use (TOU) metered, this cost is passed through as a line item on each invoice. For small commercial gas consumers and all electricity customers, the cost of the ETS is built into the energy tariff. You can see the change from 12 months ago where the carbon price has nearly doubled. In November 2018, it was priced at around $25/tonne.
Energy companies within NZ will have to look at their generational assets and search for alternative solutions in a fast and least disruptive way to avoid shortages and payment of increased ETS costs.
Transitioning the economy’s energy needs to electricity requires much more than just new generation, the national grid operator and local electricity network distributors will need to invest billions to get things moving.
Whatever is done, NZ needs to sort out its energy policy and fast to ensure the security of supply, the ability for manufacturing to thrive in NZ (by avoiding having to outsource our emissions), and keep prices as low as possible.
Total Utilities helped Forest Lodge save money, gain real-time data visibility, and prove their 100% electric claims to grant providers. All to drive sustainable growth and set an example for food producers around the world.
Why they needed us
Forest Lodge Orchard, a high-density cherry orchard in Cromwell, New Zealand, has gone fully electric with a hybrid solar and battery system tied to the grid. Owner-operator Mike Casey supports the national grid by exporting power at peak times. He also aims to provide an example of how an agricultural site can electrify everything.
Forest Lodge Orchard received a government grant to purchase 2 x 30kW electric frost fighting fans. A condition of the grant was to provide supporting data and reporting to show the source of the electricity powering the fans.
The site’s industrial electrician, Jase Lee, recommended Total Utilities and Centrica’s energy insights for the job. It’s been a great success – PowerRadar now provides new levels of visibility of the solar gains, loads, and the charging and discharging profiles onsite.
Dashboard example of solar curve and battery charging / discharging traces with Centrica Business Solution Pan-10 Wireless Sensor
NZ cherry orchard ripe for clean, optimised energy usage.
“I like to see the solar graph and then overlay the charging loads, and I can make sure that they sit within that solar curve. Sometimes we need to tap the grid for something, but we are just trying to optimise that energy usage as much as possible.”
Real-time energy intelligence delivers savings, shapes decisions, and provides new opportunities for sustainable growth.
Real-time data used to support claims for government grant
The electric frost fighting fans save Forest lodge up to $1,000 per evening compared to diesel-run fans. PowerRadar provides the usage data to substantiate these claims.
Complete oversight over battery charging and discharging
PowerRadar calculates and provides a real-time view of the battery charge and discharge traces. Effectively this was the missing piece for Mike Casey, who now has full visibility of the electrical flow on his site. He can also track how the operation affects the health and longevity of his batteries.
Solar insights inform operational and strategic decisions
By monitoring the real-time solar gain onsite, Forest Lodge can decide when they will perform operations such as irrigation, vehicle work and charging, therefore optimising their energy usage.
Calculating the running costs of their new electric tractor
Forest Lodge received another grant for a state-of-the art fully electric tractor. Energy insights will be used to determine the amount of kW drawn from solar and how much comes from the grid (and when), so the tractor’s operational running costs can be calculated.
Contributing to energy education and climate change advocacy.
Forest Lodge were invited to join EECA’s Gen Less campaign and become part of the climate change solution. The data collected by the energy insights system will play a significant part in the next chapter of their zero emission story.
Total Utilities is proud to join a growing community of over 40 suppliers and service providers participating in the Carbon Neutral Government Programme. We join the likes of Deloitte, WSP and many other organisations who profoundly care about protecting our beautiful country and people from the impact of climate change.
The purpose of the CNGP is to accelerate the reduction of emissions within the public sector and targets three areas in particular: heating, transport, and buildings.
We are Toitū carbonzero, too
This exciting news follows our February announcement, where we shared our Toitū carbonzero certification. Our commitment to taking positive action on climate change is reinforced by being on the CNGP list.
Supporting corporates and public sector clients for over 20 years
Our organisation began in 1999. Now over 3,000 corporate and public sector clients — including many schools, colleges, and tertiary institutes — rely on us for their electricity, natural gas and waste procurement, cost and consumption analysis.
More recently, we’ve been helping organisations accurately measure, verify and report on their carbon and greenhouse gas emissions. We do this with a three-prong approach: understand and act, improve and reduce, and target and report.
Paving the way to decarbonised organisations up and down the country
Through this three-step process, we help organisations understand their current footprint, create a carbon management plan for short and long-term savings, and design and maintain a greenhouse gas inventory. Together these steps help organisations decarbonise their activities and reach CarbonZero certified status.
Capabilities and experience in all five categories
The CNPG assessed us and confirmed we have capabilities and experience in all five of their key areas. This means we offer:
services to measure and report greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
independent verification services
independent verification services which meet third-party accreditation standards
services to support emission reduction plans and strategies
software solutions, tools, and other support to manage emission reduction plans and strategies.
World-leading Technology and best practice
Total Utilities uses world-class leading technology and international best practice to help organisations gain insights from their emissions inventory. They are committed to enabling organisations to reduce their carbon footprint and achieve short and long-term savings, often without additional capital spending.
Joining like-minded organisations
The programme is a great step for us and helps put us in contact with government entities seeking to accelerate their emissions reductions. Being identified as a supplier in all five categories means we can help entities from start to finish – from advising on measurement and reporting, reviewing their internal plans, building a reduction plan, to monitoring the outcome with our software and reporting tools.
We look forward to partnering with like-minded entities who are paving the way to a low emissions economy, and it’s great to see the government taking an active lead in setting this example.
As an organisation, we walk the sustainability talk by managing and reducing our greenhouse gas emissions wherever we can and neutralising our unavoidable emissions.
It’s no secret that the world is facing a waste crisis. How to reduce it, pay for it, its impact on our public and planet’s health, and where it ends up are just some of the concerns we’re grappling with.
The good news is, Total Utilities can help you identify, monitor, and reduce your waste. Here’s why engaging us as your waste management consultant is so important.
Waste is costly for our planet and business
Our growing waste problem is not only costly to the environment but expensive for businesses. New Zealand faces rising transport and disposal costs, changes to national policy and levies, and uncertainty around where to export our recycling when we don’t have the facilities to handle it here.
The Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), our government’s primary climate change response, plays a leading role in how we collectively manage waste and reach our internationally established targets. Our 2030 target, which is New Zealand’s first Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement, is as follows:
Waste is a specified activity under the ETS, so those in the waste sector must participate in the scheme. This means disposal facility operators must report their emissions to the government. They need to pay for permits to emit carbon and can offset their emissions. Land disposal facilities have options: they can either decarbonise their activities, face mounting costs, or offset their emissions by supporting climate action projects like forestry and conservation.
The most cost-effective and sustainable path for landfill facilities is to find ways to reduce their emissions. The government incentivises these facilities to find and deliver innovation and efficiencies by becoming eligible to apply for a Unique Emissions Factor. You can read about this here.
Waste levy increases
Growing pressure to address climate change, the uncertainty surrounding recycling commodity returns and stricter separation and hygiene standards are all factors behind the government’s decision to raise waste levies.
The levy increase will be phased in over four years, the first of which happened in July 2021. Levies will increase to a maximum of $60 per tonne by 2024.
These increases are designed to encourage more recycling and to divert waste from landfills. The costs apply regardless of which waste supplier you choose.
Based on the average industry wage, the cost increase would equate to an additional $22 per 4.5m³ front-end load pick up. We’re investigating with each supplier how this cost will be passed on.
The big issue: Spoiled or contaminated recycling
In a 2018 Stuff article, Green Party MP, Eugenie Sage, who was the Associate Environment Minister at the time said, “The co-mingling of waste like glass, paper and plastic was what led China to stop accepting it.”
One solution is to improve the quality of our waste by changing our behaviour – getting better at sorting and separating our waste at the source.
Countries no longer taking some recyclables creates greater uncertainty
Now that the Chinese market doesn’t accept specific categories of recyclables, costs have grown significantly.
The Chinese government also signalled to reduce its annual cardboard recycling quota by six million tonnes (10% of global demand). This means the cardboard price will drop further – it’s a market characterised by extreme pricing uncertainty.
China’s ban had a massive ripple effect on where millions of tonnes of waste ended up. Indonesia bore the substantial brunt of this.
In late 2019, the Indonesian government was looking to pass urgent legislation which would allow them to legally return spoiled recycling back to the port of origin, not the last port of call.
Indonesia has now closed its market to recycling and has indicated it would only re-open if spoiled waste could be sent back to the country of origin.
How the tightening of global spoilage standards will affect us.
Stricter global spoilage standards will affect the ongoing rates for recycling in New Zealand. The market has not priced all these factors in yet. Under the current uncertain climate, suppliers are unable to fix pricing for recycling.
How Total Utilities can help you navigate the costs and changes.
By working closely with our specialist waste consulting partners, suppliers, and customers, you can achieve reduced waste charges and levies, improved monitoring and reporting of your waste systems, and ultimately send less waste to landfill. This is a win for your bottom line and the environment.
Navigating the waste environment alone is complicated – it takes a deep understanding of the political, environmental, and global trends and policies. We expect that what happens to our waste will continue to be complex for many years to come.
Total Utilities has a finger on the pulse of policy, pricing and procurement. We can effectively interpret the changes and identify smart ways for you to contribute towards a more efficient, greener, cleaner planet.
40% reduction in exposure to waste levies Contract savings of $420k between 2021 and 2024 Ongoing recycling savings of $288k + each following year
Why Organisations Need Us
Significant financial, environmental and brand gains are achieved when businesses manage and monitor their waste efficiently.
To combat our growing waste problem, the New Zealand government is increasing the levies on nonrecycled waste from $10 per tonne to $60 per tonne by 2024. Now more than ever, businesses need to reduce the amount of waste they send to landfill.
Our experienced waste consulting service team will help to navigate the often-complex waste management environment in Australasia.
How we help
Total Utilities provides a coordinated waste procurement, supplier management, monitoring and reporting service to many well-known New Zealand and Australasian brands.
We make sense of the options available, and know when and how to manage contracts,supplier engagement and multiple waste streams.
Major Client Wins
Case one: Increasing recycling and reusing behaviours
One of our big retail clients generates around 7,000 tonnes of waste each year. Until recently, most of this headed straight to landfill with minimal recycling or reuse. If they continued down this path the additional government levies and disposal tariffs could have added around $400,000 each year to their waste bill. Not to mention the damage to the environment and their brand’s reputation.
By engaging Total Utilities, the above customer:
managed their supplier and contracts effectively
gained significantly improved reporting and identified insights into their waste and waste behaviours
got their staff on board with new systems and policies
Reduced 40% of their waste levies through contract and performance efficiencies – and diverting waste from landfill by reusing and recycling
will save $420,000 between 2021 and 2024
after that they will save at least $288,000 p.a.
Case two: Waste mitigation and colloboration
We recently conducted a waste mitigation project in partnership with a well-known Australian firm, their supplier, and a specialist recycler. This partnership not only produced significant costs savings but allowed all parties to measure and monitor their results.
By engaging Total Utilities, the above customer:
standardised many previously disjointed supply and service arrangements
extended an existing major client contract
reduced their landfill usage, governance costs and costs to serve individual customer branches
reduced their waste charges and levies and improved their efficiency of supply.
Case three: Achieving long-term win/win contracts
Our client was about to negotiate a new contract with an existing waste supplier. Head Office in the meantime was facing increasing pressure to reduce costs and report on robust decarbonisation, recycling and waste diversion targets.
Total Utilities worked with the supplier to agree a win/win contract that included agreed targets and reporting. The supplier met these targets in the first half of the contract term, earning them the right to extend their contract for a much longer period, subject to continued performance.
As a result of this improved contact, the customer:
saw improved efficiency
faced much reduced waste charges
could see clear and measurable sustainability and decarbonisation outcomes
can now report their results to their Board, executives, shareholders, the market and government.
Total Utilities continues to work with all parties to provide ongoing improvement suggestions,
verifiable reporting on cost and consumption trends, and to ensure everyone complies with the
contracted billing and performance outcomes.
Successful outcomes for business, consumers and our planet
By working closely with our specialist waste consulting partners, suppliers and customers, Total Utilities improves the performance and efficiency of waste management, whilst negotiating the best possible contract terms. For our customers, this means reductions in their waste charges, levies and carbon footprint, improved monitoring and reporting of their waste systems, and less waste sent to landfill. We’re proud that as a result of these engagements businesses can reduce and reuse. These sustainable practices can be maintained long into the future for the benefit of current and future generations.
Keen for your business to enjoy the similar outcomes? Email us at [email protected]
As the southernmost commercial deep-water port in New Zealand, South Port NZ worked with Total Utilities to implement Centrica Business Solutions’ Panoramic Power™ technology – avoiding costly upgrade projects and increasing available storage capacity.
80% increase in container storage days compared to previous year
10mins to collect data from 51 revenue meters across site
$600k savings from avoided capital project expenses (USD)
Increasing capacity of available on-site storage
South Port NZ is a deep-water port on a 40-hectare Island located in Bluff, New Zealand, from where it provides a full range of marine services, cargo and container shipping, and on-site warehousing for domestic and international customers.
In 2019, South Port NZ partnered with Total Utilities to better understand the actual power demand of the site, identify opportunities to increase existing storage capacity and deliver customised solutions to meet the needs of customers on the island. An initial supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) solution was proposed by a 3rd party vendor to address the needs, which came with a price tag of NZD$800,000.
As a partner of Centrica Business Solutions, Total Utilities supplied and DECOM Electrical installed Panoramic Power wireless, device-level, energy monitoring sensors at the port. After a month of capturing the data and analysing it using Centrica Business Solutions’ complimentary energy management software, PowerRadar, South Port NZ deployed an additional 229 Panoramic Power sensors and over 30 communication bridges across the port with minimal interruption to operations. Within days, the on-site infrastructure team gained real-time, granular visibility into the energy consumption and operation of their critical assets across the site. The easy-to-install energy insights solution now transmits data securely via cellular connectivity – monitoring more assets than the initial proposed SCADA solution, at a fraction of the cost.
“PowerRadar provides real-time data on demand versus capacity which allows us to maximize our electrical PowerRadar provides real-time data on demand versus capacity which allows us to maximise our electrical infrastructure while minimising risk. Being a small team looking after the engineering infrastructure of a 40-hectare island, takes a lot of our time. Having something like this that provides us with real-time, easy data, provides efficiencies saving us a lot of time.”
Jason Paul, Project Engineer, South Port NZ
Prior to installing Panoramic Power, the infrastructure team had been unable to determine the maximum number of refrigeration storage units that could be brought online safely at any given time. As such, only eighty electrical plugs were available at any time – one per refrigeration storage unit – within two substations dedicated to handling refrigeration reefers for port customers. With real-time visibility of the measured load across the electrical substations in PowerRadar, the infrastructure team realised that the electrical capacity for these substations was being underutilised – adding more plugs to these substations doubled the reefer capacity to 160 without any major or costly upgrades.
Streamlining resources for managing assets
One of the hurdles of the day-to-day operations at the port was the amount of time spent in collecting data from submeters to invoice port customers. Typically, it would take one of the port’s personnel three days every six months to capture the readings from all 51 revenue meters around the port, regardless of the weather conditions. Using PowerRadar, it now takes them only 10 minutes to collect the meter information before it is passed to their finance team for invoicing customers.
With the monitoring of the sewer pump stations at the port using PowerRadar, the infrastructure team now receives real-time alerts on the status of the motors operated at those stations. This has enabled the reallocation of limited resources to other critical assets at the port. One of the benefits of such reallocation was the detection of surface water ingress at the pump stations by the infrastructure team, having compared the measured power draw of the pumps to available rain data. It is now possible for the infrastructure team to track the amount of surface water ingress at each station on days with rainfall and implement any corrective measures.
Effective planning for infrastructure projects
When trying to identify which assets at the port should be prioritised for capital upgrade projects, the infrastructure team relied on the energy consumption data in PowerRadar. This enabled the team, particularly in the design phase, to plan future expansions as well as ongoing maintenance of the existing electrical infrastructure at the port.
An energy audit was completed for one of the large electrical substations being monitored at the port. The findings resulted in the approval of a large capital project for implementing changes to the substation, and switch board running the Cold Stores and an expected payback within one year.
To ensure the reliability of the substations to handle loads within the port’s electrical network, especially during periods of storing a large number of refrigerator containers, the infrastructure team uses the real-time energy dashboard within PowerRadar to track the maximum power demand from the combined substations. If the power draw approaches 1 MW, the team can begin to consider bringing backup generators online or other ways of taking some load off the power grid at the port.
By choosing to implement Panoramic Power across the site, South Port NZ reduced their capital expenditure by US$600,000 and achieved an increase of 80% in container storage days compared to the previous year. In addition, South Port NZ is now able to report on their carbon footprint annually, provide automatic reports on monthly energy use to port users and streamline efforts in identifying areas of high energy usage for investigating ways to lower the peak demand at the port.
