Why LNG is the wrong solution for Aotearoa’s energy future

Weeks after the government’s announcement to build an LNG import terminal in Taranaki, the decision doesn’t look good. The Israeli-U.S. war on Iran is exposing the risk of fossil fuel dependency. And here in Aotearoa the Lawyers for Climate Action are taking the government to court about deficiencies in climate policy.

New Zealand is being told it needs a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal to ensure energy security.

But this framing misses a deeper question:

Are we solving the right problem in the right way?

The issue is not simply whether we have enough energy.

It is whether we design an energy system that is resilient, affordable, locally controlled, and aligned with our climate commitments.

The real choice

This is not a choice between LNG supply or blackouts. It is a choice between:

• A fossil-fuel-based system exposed to global markets, price volatility, and long-term emissions, or
• renewable, resilient system, based on local resources, smarter design, and coordinated solutions.

What this series explores

This series of posts looks at how Aotearoa can build that system. Each article focuses on one part of the puzzle:

• How solar power helps store energy in our hydro lakes
• What critics get right, and wrong, about dry-year risk
• Why imported gas increases, rather than reduces, risk
• The multiple pathways already available to transition away from fossil fuels
• What drives electricity prices, and how to stabilise them
• What we can learn from Australia’s rapid solar rollout
• How local energy systems can give communities more control.

New Zealand already has most of what it needs via renewable generation, natural storage (hydro), and strong potential for solar and wind.

What is missing is not the resource, but clear-eyed system design and direction, unencumbered by the influence of the fossil fuel industry. We do not need more fossil fuel infrastructure.
We need a better-designed energy system.

Call to action

Follow this series as we explore the choices ahead. When the series is complete, we will have a petition for you to sign and share.

Cover image: Te Apiti Wind Farm. Image credit: Jondaar_1