Nau mai, welcome to the Energy Markets and Resource Markets Pānui - Tīhema

Pānui is a regular update from the Energy Markets and Resource Markets branches, part of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. This update is for iwi, hapū and other Māori organisations with an interest in the energy and resources sectors. Find out about our latest work and relevant updates.

Enabling regime for Carbon capture utilisation and storage (CCUS) 

We want to engage with iwi and hapū in early 2025 who have interest in Carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS). 

CCUS is the process of capturing and storing carbon dioxide (CO2) to prevent it from entering the atmosphere. Current uses of CCUS in New Zealand include production of industrial CO2 for use in industrial processes and products, and reinjection of CO2 in geothermal electricity generation. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) involves injecting captured CO2 into suitable geologic formations deep underground.

CCS forms a key part of meeting emissions targets under the Government’s Second Emissions Reduction Plan, which was released last week.

Read the ERP2 announcement

The Government is looking to enable a level playing field for emissions reductions and removals technology in New Zealand, by putting in place settings for businesses to choose to deploy CCS if it makes sense for them to do so. If deployed, CCS could reduce the cost of meeting New Zealand’s climate change commitments, support emissions reduction in hard to abate industries and contribute towards energy security by reducing the cost of gas production.

In July 2024, we released a consultation paper on the ‘Proposed regulatory regime for carbon capture, utilisation and storage.’ The public consultation closed 6 August 2024, and we received 54 submissions, including from iwi. We expect to publish the submissions in due course.

Read the proposal paper

We are seeking interest from iwi and hapū who want to engage with us on the next stage of this project. Please email us at GasFuelPolicy@mbie.govt.nz

Upcoming engagement on natural and orange hydrogen

New Zealand has prospects for both naturally-occurring hydrogen that is generated below the surface of the earth, and for artificially stimulated geological hydrogen (orange hydrogen).
The Government has work underway to clarify regulatory settings and assess if changes are needed to enable exploration for natural hydrogen and development of orange hydrogen. 

Early engagement with Māori is intended to take place in February – April of 2025.

Wider public consultation and targeted consultation with industry and Māori is intended to take place in April – May 2025. Any changes required to settings will begin in mid-2025.

If you would like to know more about our early engagements please email resourcepolicy@mbie.govt.nz

What is hydrogen?

Hydrogen can play a role in reducing emissions in hard-to-electrify sectors. Hydrogen is the lightest and most abundant element in the universe and can carry and store energy like a battery.  This energy can then be used to produce electricity through a fuel cell to power machines or combusted for heat and energy. It has a wide range of applications in sectors ranging from power, industry, and heavy transport. 

Hydrogen can be produced through a range of methods. Adding natural and orange hydrogen to the energy system mix could support New Zealand transition to a low-emissions economy and contribute to New Zealand’s growing hydrogen demand.

Crown Minerals Amendment Bill process

The Crown Minerals Amendment Bill 2024, which proposes changes to the Crown Minerals Act, is currently before Parliament and expected to progress in early 2025.

What happens next?

If the Bill is passed, most of the changes brought through the Crown Minerals Amendment Bill will take effect immediately, while others will require staggered implementation and secondary legislation. The secondary legislation will address matters such as how petroleum exploration permits are allocated, and the operation of Tier 3 minerals permits.

All changes will be operational by 1 July 2025.

We will keep you informed about how to give feedback on the development of any secondary legislation, such as consultation on the programmes currently underway.

More information about Crown minerals legislation including regulations and Programmes - nzpam.govt.nz
 

Draft Crown Minerals Programmes – Public consultation

New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals (NZPAM) has begun consultation on updated Minerals and Petroleum Programmes to reflect recent and proposed amendments to the Crown Minerals Act 1991 (CMA).

Ngā mihi to the various iwi and hapū who we have spoken to over the past few weeks.

The Minerals Programme for Petroleum 2013 and the Minerals Programme for Minerals (Excluding Petroleum) 2013 set out how the Minister for Resources and delegated decision-makers will exercise their powers and interpret and apply specific provisions in the CMA, and associated regulations. The Programmes also provide general operational guidance.

The Programmes were last updated in 2013 and since then, there have been a number of amendments to the CMA, and further changes are proposed through the Crown Minerals Amendment Bill 2024 which is currently progressing through Parliament.

Key changes that may be of interest to iwi and hapū are in Chapter 2 of both Programmes, including:

• Acknowledgement of all forms of settlement commitments relating to Crown minerals.
• A new clause specifying expectations, processes and information for permit holders in engaging with iwi and hapū.
• A new clause setting out how to determine the rohe of relevant iwi and hapū, if unclear.
• References to the iwi engagement reporting, meetings and considerations set out elsewhere in the Programmes.

If you would like to meet with the team to discuss these changes please contact cmaprogrammes@mbie.govt.nz

Submissions on the Programmes close at 5pm 11 February 2025.

Read more on the updated Programmes and make a submission

An update on the MBIE Energy Use Funds

The administration for the Support for Energy Education in Communities (SEEC) programme and the Community Renewable Energy Fund (CREF) is moving from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) to the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Agency (EECA) in February 2025.

EECA is responsible for the delivery of information and programmes relating to energy efficiency, energy conversation and the use of renewable energy.

This change will enable greater efficiencies and alignment of SEEC and CREF with other energy funding programmes, which are primarily delivered by EECA. There are also opportunities to align these funds with other functions of EECA. This is an exciting time for the future of the funds, and we cannot wait to see what they achieve with EECA.

Current funding agreements with SEEC or CREF recipients will remain and be honoured as they are - however, there will be some changes to who you contact and how invoices will be paid. If you are a current recipient of either SEEC or CREF funding, MBIE will contact you directly with how these changes will impact you. Both agencies aim to make this transfer as smooth and undisruptive as possible for any recipients.

The Māori and Public Housing Renewable Energy Fund (MPHREF) will remain in the energy markets branch of MBIE as the fund is nearing completion.

If you have any questions about these changes please email us at: energyuse@mbie.govt.nz

We hope you all have a wonderful summer break and look forward to working together more in 2025. If you have any questions or feedback, we welcome you to send these through to ermpatai@mbie.govt.nz

Ngā mihi o te wā – Seasons Greetings