Electric Vehicles: Should we intervene?

Over the past two years there has been a growing interest in the role that Electric Vehicles (EVs) may play in driving a sustainable transport system for NZ. Their potential to help achieve emissions reductions and greater energy security, along with improved productivity from cheaper running costs, mean that EVs have become central to any discussions

2015 OERC Seed Research Grant applications close 16th November

Applications are invited for the 2015 OERC seed research grant (up to $2500). The primary aim of this grant is to provide seed funding for a research project that may subsequently be developed for a funding application and/or into a research paper targeted at an international peer reviewed journal.   Strong preference will be given multidisciplinary

I’ve got the power!

Over the last hundred years people in the developed world have become used to a system where electricity flows from centralised power plants, along Becky400biotransmission and distribution wires, and into our homes to power our appliances. But new technologies are starting to move in to people’s

Masters success

Diana Giraldo

Masters student Diana Giraldo Ocampo has recently completed her Masters thesis. Click here to read her fascinating work in developing an energy related Time-Use diary that has been used in the Green Grid research project.

From the Warehouse to Your Door: Moving Goods

Traditional weekend visits to the local shops are bring increasingly replaced by virtual shopping trips. From clothes to electronics to food, online shopping has revolutionised our shopping practices: it is ‘the new retail reality’.

In 2012, 1.8 million New Zealanders made an online purchase. A study by the New Zealand Retailers Association found that online purchases

Registration open for OERC Symposium

Don’t forget to register for the 2015 Otago Energy Research Centre Symposium, scheduled for November 19th at Arana College at the University of Otago. Thank you to all those who have already registered.

“Energy Transitions and Technologies”  The 2015 OERC Symposium will bring together academics, industry and community stakeholders undertaking energy-related research and innovation.

Invited Speakers:

Dr Steve Batstone

New Home Performance Advisor Training programme launched

Home energy advisor logoSally Blackwell, one of our Energy Cultures PhD student has been involved in developing the newly launched Home Performance Advisor training programme for those working with energy and houses.

The Home Performance Advisor programme provides intensive science-based training to gain a comprehensive understanding of how

Insulation standards – one small step, but…

The government’s proposal to introduce rental insulation standards is a step in the right direction.  If, as predicted, about 180,000 rental dwellings (one third of rentals) will be upgraded to meet the standard over the next 4 years, this represents a greatly increased rate of insulation retrofitting compared with current rates.

Notwithstanding there are quibbles about

Politics and the Anthropocene

I research energy policy stability in New Zealand. I’m nearing the end of my PhD and after being so highly focused on one small area, I wanted to use this blog to instead talk about what I see as the much larger context my research sits in. In this, I don’t think I’m saying anything