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Energy

• Energy supply
• Energy demand
  • Total consumer demand
  • Compared to GDP

Total consumer energy demand

This indicator measures the total amount of energy used by consumers in New Zealand. It is measured by specific energy type, and by consumer type. Because it is a measure of the end-use of energy, it excludes:

• any energy used for non-energy purposes (eg, coal used as a raw material in steel manufacturing)
• any energy loss resulting from the transformation of energy from its initial state (primary energy) into a more convenient useable state (consumer energy) (eg, converting geothermal heat into electricity)
• any energy used to bring useable energy to the final consumer (eg, electricity transmission losses).

It is important to measure energy use because it can have both direct and indirect impacts on the environment, for example:

• Direct impacts include those resulting from the use of the energy itself, such as greenhouse gas and particulate emissions from the combustion of fossil fuels.
• Indirect environmental impacts of energy use are those that arise from demand. For example, how electricity is used may not necessarily have a direct impact on the environment, but the demand for electricity influences the supply of electricity – there are also environmental impacts associated with its production.

Current situation

In 2007, the total consumer energy demand in New Zealand was 508 petajoules, or approximately 120 gigajoules per person. This is equivalent to approximately 3400 litres of petrol per person.

Energy demand by fuel type

In 2007, nearly two-thirds (63 per cent) of New Zealand’s consumer energy demand was met by fossil fuels (oil, gas and coal). Petrol and diesel dominated, respectively accounting for 44 per cent and 42 per cent of total oil use. Electricity accounted for 28 per cent of our energy use, while geothermal accounted for 2 per cent, and other renewable energy sources made up 7 per cent (biogas, wind, wood and solar).

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Energy demand by sector

In 2007, industry used the largest share of energy (31 per cent), followed by the residential sector (13 per cent), transport industry (10 per cent), commercial sector (9 per cent), and agricultural sector (4 per cent). Thirty-three per cent of energy demand was ‘unallocated’.

‘Unallocated’ energy demand is fuel sold through all service stations and other independent delivery services, eg, marina refuelling facilities and farm delivery services. Traditionally it was assumed that this fuel was for ‘on’-road use and was therefore included under transport. However, a recent review of liquid fuel use in New Zealand has indicated that a large percentage of this ‘unallocated’ energy demand was being used by farmers, earth moving contractors, and forestry and fishing operators, whose primary activity is ‘off'-road. As a result, the current method of data collection used to inform this report card was found to over-allocate liquid fuel use to transport, with a corresponding under-allocation of fuel use to the agriculture, forestry and mining and industrial sectors.

Consumer energy demand in New Zealand by sector, 2007

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Long-term trend

Energy demand by fuel type

Total consumer energy demand in New Zealand increased by 20 per cent between 1998 and 2007. Apart from a slight surge between 2000 and 2003, growth in energy use was relatively steady between 1998 and 2007.

Total consumer energy demand met by renewable energy, including solar, wind, biogas and wood, grew by 24 per cent between 1998 and 2007.

More significant was the growth in the use of non-renewable energy – between 1998 and 2007 the use of fossil fuels increased by 22 per cent. Oil saw the greatest increase, up 25 per cent, with gas and coal also increasing by 17 and 2 per cent respectively.

A key factor contributing to this increased use of oil is the 20 per cent increase in the use of energy by the transport industry between 1998 and 2007. The 17 per cent increase in gas consumption over this period is due to its increased use in electricity generation and methanol production.

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Energy demand by sector

The largest growth of allocated energy use between 1998 and 2007 was found in the commercial sector (24 per cent), followed by the transport sector (20 per cent), industrial sector (16 per cent), residential sector (9 per cent), and agricultural sector (1 per cent).

An important environmental impact associated with the increasing use of energy for transport is an increase in greenhouse gas emissions. Between 1998 and 2007, transport-related greenhouse gas emissions increased in New Zealand by 28 per cent, accounting for 46 per cent of all of our energy-related greenhouse gas emissions in 2007.

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While an increase in population accounts for some of the increase in energy use, it does not account for all of it. The long-term trend is one of growth: per person energy use increased by 8 per cent between 1998 and 2007.

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Recent trend

Between 2005 and 2007, total consumer energy demand increased by 3 per cent, while demand per person increased by 0.8 per cent. This pattern of growth is consistent with trends observed between 2003 and 2005.

There was an increase in the use of every energy type between 2005 and 2007. A 5 per cent increase in the use of electricity led this growth, followed by a 3 per cent increase in the use of fossil fuels and a 1 per cent increase in the use of other renewables. Although the rates of growth for each energy type differed over the two-year period, the proportion of each type used remained relatively unchanged.

Similar patterns of growth were found in the industrial sector (8 per cent), residential sector (2 per cent), transport industry sector (3 per cent) and unallocated (3 per cent). Commercial and agricultural sector use of energy fell by 6 and 7 per cent respectively.

International comparison

According to the latest Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) comparative data, New Zealand’s total energy demand is comparatively low among OECD countries, with only Luxembourg, Iceland and the Slovak Republic using less energy. However, when demand is allocated on a per person basis, New Zealand is only average, using more energy per person than 17 of our OECD peers. This high per person ranking is due largely to our heavy reliance on private motor vehicles. And, while New Zealand’s per person energy use still falls below the OECD average, the rate at which it increased between 1996 and 2006 was greater than that of the OECD average.

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Last updated: 24 July 2009