In this column, Neal Barclay, CEO of Meridian Energy, defends criticism of the company and points to its strong record in acting sustainably.
A recent article paid for by Flick Electric issued a warning to New Zealand consumers that buying "green electrons" is not possible, given the national grid contains a mix of electricity from both renewable and non-renewable sources.
This has been the structure of the New Zealand electricity market since its inception. But the article went further, suggesting that Meridian engages in "greenwashing" by giving customers the "false impression of being environmentally sound" and that, in so doing, we were delaying progress towards a sustainable energy system.
This was a disservice to consumers who care about transitioning New Zealand to 100 per cent renewable generation and a low carbon future.
For the CEO of Flick Electric, a subsidiary of one of New Zealand's largest fossil fuel refining, production and distribution companies, to accuse Meridian of greenwashing like this would be laughable, were it not so misleading.
Yes, Meridian was required to amend an advertisement by the Advertising Standards Authority. The ASA said it was misleading to imply the physical electricity consumers buy from us is better for the environment than the electricity they buy from other retailers – something we never intended and have since adjusted. But we stand by our claim that we only generate from 100 per cent renewable resources.
Once electricity is in the national grid, it is impossible for consumers to distinguish where it comes from – whether it is from environmentally friendly sources or not. But to characterise our electricity system as simply one 'big vege soup', as Flick did in their article, obscures the role of generators – who generate the electricity that flows into the grid.
Generators must make choices about whether to invest in and build stations that generate electricity from renewable sources like wind, water, and sun, or from non-renewable sources like gas and coal.
You may not be able to differentiate electrons, but you sure can differentiate the fuel source of generators. Meridian is New Zealand's largest generator of electricity and every electron we generate is 100 per cent renewable. We will never generate from anything other than renewable sources in the future.
When consumers buy from Meridian, they are supporting a company committed to clean generation from wind, water and sun. They are supporting our part in accelerating the growth of renewables in New Zealand and to progressively electrify sectors of the economy which still rely on fossil fuels.
Since Meridian was formed in 1999, we have invested around $3.8 billion in new renewable generation projects or in improving our existing hydro generation fleet. Those projects are responsible for avoiding approximately 1.9 to 4.6 million tonnes of carbon being pumped into our atmosphere every year (if they had been non-renewable projects instead).
To put that into context, the carbon abated equates to the emissions that 1m-2.5m average cars create every year.
As for Flick's efforts, there's no doubt that managing your electricity usage at certain times of the day can play a small part in reducing emissions. But the real opportunity for New Zealand to decarbonise our economy is to convert industries that rely on fossil fuels to electric. That requires large-scale investment in new renewables.
Of the several billion dollars of capital spent over the last couple of decades on new generation to deliver an increasingly renewable future for this country, Flick has contributed precisely zero.
We encourage other companies to do as much as or more than Meridian to accelerate the de-carbonisation of the New Zealand economy. Meridian is net zero emissions across its operations. We've also electrified our light passenger vehicle fleet, we're rolling out new EV charging infrastructure across the country and working with industry to electrify coal-fired process heat in factories and other industrial plant.
We're also working on plans for new solar and wind generation around New Zealand to further reduce our country's reliance on fossil fuels.
With the help of our customers, our Forever Forests programme will see 1.5m trees planted throughout New Zealand to offset the carbon produced by our everyday activities, so in just a few years we won't need to rely on purchasing any carbon offsets to achieve our net zero carbon commitment
So, you'll forgive me for suggesting the accusation of greenwashing rings a little hollow. I'd suggest Flick do something more meaningful – instead of criticising those focused on being part of the solution.