Energy debate continues on on-line forum

Energy debate continues on on-line forum

New Zealand’s future electricity demand could be met by solar energy and tidal power – these are just some of the suggestions being made at the Electricity Future Forum (www.eff.co.nz).

The website is hosted by Meridian Energy and has been up and running for more than eight weeks. It was set up to spark debate about electricity supply and demand issues facing New Zealand in the next few years.

Meridian Energy spokesman Alan Seay said differing opinions and views on New Zealand’s electricity future were encouraged so contributors could bounce ideas off each other and share their knowledge.

“It’s fantastic that we are having debate about solar energy and other supply options. We can learn something new, not only through debate but by sharing useful information that we have read, either published or on the internet,” he said.

Although there has been a lot of debate on supply, managing demand was another topic that has been brought up.

“Energy efficiency is just one of the many forums on the website. How we change New Zealand’s attitude towards energy is very important, and we encourage people to come up with ideas on how to manage it.”

The website has been set up so regular contributors do not need to keep checking it for submissions to an on-going debate – they can subscribe to an automatic e-mail service, which advises them when someone has replied.

“The automated e-mail makes it easier for regular contributors; it refers them to the site so they don’t need to log on separately to the internet to check for new submissions.”

Since the site was established on 2 March 2004, more than 140 submissions have been made.

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