Shifted Energy was a finalist for the 2022 The Ara Ake New Zealand Decarbonization Challenge. New Zealand is on a decarbonization journey to reach 100% renewable electricity by 2030 and a fully carbon-neutral economy by 2050. There are twenty-nine electricity distribution businesses (EDBs) across New Zealand who are directly impacted by the inherent uncertainty of this journey, and each is a key enabler of this transition. EDBs face the challenge of investing, managing, and operating their networks to support New Zealand towards these sustainability goals, while continuing to deliver a fit-for-purpose, safe, secure, and, very importantly, equitable electricity distribution service.
With the drive to decarbonize industrial heat, the rapid increase in distributed energy resources (DER), and the untapped potential of future flexibility services, EDBs are seeking solutions to support the optimization of network investment and the de-risking of network asset management. This worldwide challenge selected eight companies that have the potential to help New Zealand with their decarbonization challenge.